Testosterone gel improves appetite and reduces tiredness in males with advanced cancer.

Commonly, patients with advanced malignancy often have symptoms of fatigue, tiredness and generalised body aches for which no therapy exists.1 Physicians find it challenging to palliate the intangible, commonly with undertreatment of these symptoms. Notably, hypogonadism (or low testosterone levels) is found in about two-thirds of male patients with advanced cancer. It is associated with poor nutritional status, fatigue, loss of appetite, reduced libido, decreased quality of life, insomnia and depression.2 Testosterone replacement provides pharmacopalliation of such symptoms in those who are preterminal. We report an audit of 13 inpatient males admitted under …