Više in vitro studija je utvrdilo da DHEA ima antiproliferativne i apoptozne efekte na ćelijama kancera.[8][9][10] Kliničkih značaj tih nalaza nije poznat. Visoki nivoi DHEA i drugih endogenih seksuаlnih hormona su u znatnoj meri vezani za povišeni rizik od razvoja raka dojkipre- i postmenopаuzalno.[11][12]
^Schulman, Robert A.; Dean, Carolyn (2007). Solve It With Supplements. New York City: Rodale, Inc. стр. 100. ISBN978-1-57954-942-8. „DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) is a common hormone produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain.”
^Yang, N. C.; Jeng, K. C.; Ho, W. M.; Hu, M. L. (2002). „ATP depletion is an important factor in DHEA-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in BV-2 cells”. Life Sci. 70 (17): 1979—88. PMID12148690. doi:10.1016/S0024-3205(01)01542-9.
^Schulz, S.; Klann, R. C.; Schönfeld, S.; Nyce, J. W. (1992). „Mechanisms of cell growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest in human colonic adenocarcinoma cells by dehydroepiandrosterone: role of isoprenoid biosynthesis”. Cancer Res. 52 (5): 1372—6. PMID1531325.
^Tworoger SS, Missmer SA, Eliassen AH, et al. (2006). „The association of plasma DHEA and DHEA sulfate with breast cancer risk in predominantly premenopausal women”. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 15 (5): 967—71. PMID16702378. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-05-0976.
^Key, T.; Appleby, P.; Barnes, I.; Reeves, G. (2002). „Endogenous sex hormones and breast cancer in postmenopausal women: reanalysis of nine prospective studies”. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 94 (8): 606—16. PMID11959894. doi:10.1093/jnci/94.8.606.
DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly menАрхивирано на сајту Wayback Machine (26. март 2010), published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006. "Neither DHEA nor low-dose testosterone replacement in elderly people has physiologically relevant beneficial effects on body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, or quality of life."