The purpose of the study was to describe the novel use of bicalutamide in transgender youth.
This is a retrospective review of patients with gender dysphoria followed in the pediatric endocrine clinic at Riley Hospital for Children.
Of 104 patients with gender dysphoria, 23 male-to-female adolescents received bicalutamide 50 mg daily as a second-line puberty blocker after insurance company denial of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog. Six patients received estrogen concurrently. Of 13 patients treated exclusively with bicalutamide seen in follow-up, 84.6% had breast development within 6 months, the majority being ≥ Tanner stage III.
Bicalutamide may be an alternative to gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in transgender male-to-female youth who are also ready to undergo physical transition.
Neyman, A., Fuqua, J.S., & Eugster, E.A. (2019). Bicalutamide as an Androgen Blocker With Secondary Effect of Promoting Feminization in Male-to-Female Transgender Adolescents. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 64 4, 544-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.10.296
― Apr 2019