TOM: Testosterone in Older Men With Sarcopenia

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether testosterone replacement in older men with low testosterone levels will increase muscle strength, improve physical performance and overall sense of well being, and reduce fatigue.

Timeline

Start

2005-01

Primary completion

2009-12

Completion

2009-12

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

Stopped: “Higher incidence of cardiovascular events in the testosterone arm of the trial. Decision taken by the DSMB on December 31st, 2009.”

registry analysis (superiority or other test); Treatment vs Placebo; p = 0.003; Mean Difference (Net) 129.8 (95% CI 43.9 to 215.6) NCT00240981 ↗

Publications

• Background Hughes VA, Frontera WR, Roubenoff R, Evans WJ, Singh MA. Longitudinal changes in body composition in older men and women: role of body weight change and physical activity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Aug;76(2):473-81. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/76.2.473.
• Background Hughes VA, Frontera WR, Wood M, Evans WJ, Dallal GE, Roubenoff R, Fiatarone Singh MA. Longitudinal muscle strength changes in older adults: influence of muscle mass, physical activity, and health. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001 May;56(5):B209-17. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.5.b209.
• Background Harman SM, Metter EJ, Tobin JD, Pearson J, Blackman MR; Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Longitudinal effects of aging on serum total and free testosterone levels in healthy men. Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Feb;86(2):724-31. doi: 10.1210/jcem.86.2.7219.
• Background Gray A, Berlin JA, McKinlay JB, Longcope C. An examination of research design effects on the association of testosterone and male aging: results of a meta-analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 1991;44(7):671-84. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(91)90028-8.
• Results Basaria S, Coviello AD, Travison TG, Storer TW, Farwell WR, Jette AM, Eder R, Tennstedt S, Ulloor J, Zhang A, Choong K, Lakshman KM, Mazer NA, Miciek R, Krasnoff J, Elmi A, Knapp PE, Brooks B, Appleman E, Aggarwal S, Bhasin G, Hede-Brierley L, Bhatia A, Collins L, LeBrasseur N, Fiore LD, Bhasin S. Adverse events associated with testosterone administration. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jul 8;363(2):109-22. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1000485. Epub 2010 Jun 30.
• Lee H, Hwang EC, Oh CK, Lee S, Yu HS, Lim JS, Kim HW, Walsh T, Kim MH, Jung JH, Dahm P. Testosterone replacement in men with sexual dysfunction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Jan 15;1(1):CD013071. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013071.pub2.
• Traustadottir T, Harman SM, Tsitouras P, Pencina KM, Li Z, Travison TG, Eder R, Miciek R, McKinnon J, Woodbury E, Basaria S, Bhasin S, Storer TW. Long-Term Testosterone Supplementation in Older Men Attenuates Age-Related Decline in Aerobic Capacity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Aug 1;103(8):2861-2869. doi: 10.1210/jc.2017-01902.
• Bhasin S, Travison TG, O'Brien L, MacKrell J, Krishnan V, Ouyang H, Pencina K, Basaria S. Contributors to the substantial variation in on-treatment testosterone levels in men receiving transdermal testosterone gels in randomized trials. Andrology. 2018 Jan;6(1):151-157. doi: 10.1111/andr.12428. Epub 2017 Oct 5.
• Gagliano-Juca T, Storer TW, Pencina KM, Travison TG, Li Z, Huang G, Hettwer S, Dahinden P, Bhasin S, Basaria S. Testosterone does not affect agrin cleavage in mobility-limited older men despite improvement in physical function. Andrology. 2018 Jan;6(1):29-36. doi: 10.1111/andr.12424. Epub 2017 Sep 26.
• Huang G, Bhasin S, Tang ER, Aakil A, Anderson SW, Jara H, Davda M, Travison TG, Basaria S. Effect of testosterone administration on liver fat in older men with mobility limitation: results from a randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2013 Aug;68(8):954-9. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gls259. Epub 2013 Jan 4.
• Travison TG, Basaria S, Storer TW, Jette AM, Miciek R, Farwell WR, Choong K, Lakshman K, Mazer NA, Coviello AD, Knapp PE, Ulloor J, Zhang A, Brooks B, Nguyen AH, Eder R, LeBrasseur N, Elmi A, Appleman E, Hede-Brierley L, Bhasin G, Bhatia A, Lazzari A, Davis S, Ni P, Collins L, Bhasin S. Clinical meaningfulness of the changes in muscle performance and physical function associated with testosterone administration in older men with mobility limitation. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Oct;66(10):1090-9. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr100. Epub 2011 Jun 22.
• LeBrasseur NK, Lajevardi N, Miciek R, Mazer N, Storer TW, Bhasin S. Effects of testosterone therapy on muscle performance and physical function in older men with mobility limitations (The TOM Trial): design and methods. Contemp Clin Trials. 2009 Mar;30(2):133-40. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2008.10.005. Epub 2008 Oct 29.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	Testosterone	Small molecule	5 g	Topical
Subject	Testosterone	Small molecule	10 g	Topical
Subject	Testosterone	Small molecule	15 g	Topical

Indications