Simultaneous Measurement of Serum Chemical Castration Agents and Testosterone Levels Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Chemical castration involves administration of drugs to prevent pathological sexual behavior, reduce abnormal sexual drive and treat hormone-dependent cancers. Various drugs have been used for chemical castration; however, substantial interindividual variability and side effects are often observed. In this study, we proposed a useful monitoring method for the application of chemical castration agents using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS). Testosterone, cyproterone acetate, medroxyprogesterone, goserelin acetate, leuprolide acetate and triptorelin acetate were analyzed by UPLC-MS-MS. The target drugs were extracted from serum samples by double protein precipitation using methanol. Testosterone-1,2-d2 and buserelin acetate were used as internal standards. Parameters of analytical performance were evaluated, including imprecision, linearity, ion suppression and detection capabilities. Testosterone measurements were compared with the results of immunoassays. Serum specimens from 51 subjects who underwent chemical castration were analyzed. All drugs and testosterone were well extracted and separated using our method. The method was essentially free from potential interferences and ion suppression. Within-run and between-run imprecision values were <15%. The lower limits of quantification were 0.125 and 0.5-1.0 ng/mL for testosterone and other drugs, respectively. Good correlations with pre-existing immunoassays for testosterone measurement were observed. Sera from subjects who underwent androgen deprivation therapy showed variable levels of drugs. We successfully developed a UPLC-MS-MS-based monitoring method for chemical castration. The performance of our method was generally acceptable. This method may provide a novel monitoring strategy for chemical castration to enhance expected effects while reducing unwanted side effects.