Studies on Prostatic Cancer. V. Excretion of 17-Ketosteroids, Estrogens and Gonadotropins before and after Castration1

Abstract

For the past several years we have been investigating the subject of cancer, of the prostate from the standpoint of its clinical, pathologic, enzymatic and hormonal aspects (1, 2, 3). Fully aware of the difficulties involved in the estimation of gonadal secretion by urinary sex hormone determinations, we undertook a study of urinary hormones in a series of patients with prostatic cancer, before and after castration, in the hope of clarifying secretion-excretion relations and to determine the following: a). Are there qualitative and quantitative alterations of urinary hormone excretion in the patient with prostatic cancer? b). What effect does castration have on these hormones and is this effect different from that found in the castrate without prostatic disease? c). Do extragonadal sources of these urinary hormones come into play following castration? d). Is there a relation between the excretory levels of the sex hormones and certain clinical phenomena observed in the castrate?