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Biomedical subjects

G Secreto

Publications and source records attributed to G Secreto.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Abnormal serum hormone levels in lung cancer.

Serum levels of chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin were evaluated with the radioimmunoassay in 59 patients with lung cancer, 10 patients with benign lung disease, and 37 normal controls. HCG was present in 6.8% of the lung cancer patients but in none of the subjects of the other two groups. Prolactin and LH levels were significantly higher than normal in lung cancer patients (respectively p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.01) as well as in patients with benign lung disease (p less than 0.01 for both the hormones). Testosterone levels were significantly lower than normal in patients with lung cancer (p less than 0.05) but not in those with benign lung disease. When the patients were analyzed according to histologic type and clinical stage of disease, significantly lower than normal values of testosterone were found in patients with small cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. In the squamous cell carcinoma group, the patients with lymph node metastases had significantly lower testosterone levels than those without lymph node metastases. From these results, we may hypothesize that the raised levels of prolactin and LH are related to a pulmonary pathology, not necessarily neoplastic, whereas the low levels of testosterone are related to the presence of the tumor.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1983

Long-term response to ovariectomy in 35 premenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer, treated in coherence with hormonal tests.

Thirty-five premenopausal patients with metastasized or locally advanced breast cancer underwent ovariectomy. At relapse, after surgery, they were treated with hormone therapy or chemotherapy, according to hormonal tests carried out before the castration. Five-year survival, computed with the actuarial method, confirmed the better prognosis of the hormone-dependent patients and also an improved prognosis in the patients treated with hormone therapy after ovariectomy. Furthermore, chemotherapy proved more efficacious: an increased survival was observed in the non-hormone-dependent patients.

Androstane-3,17-diol↗
PubMed1983

Androgen excretion in women with a family history of breast cancer or with epithelial hyperplasia or cancer of the breast.

Urinary testosterone and androstanediol were measured by gas chromatography in four groups of premenopausal subjects: 22 healthy women (control group), 21 healthy women with a family history of breast cancer (familiality group), 39 patients with breast lumps which consisted of ductal or lobular hyperplasia (hyperplasia group) and 18 patients with infiltrating breast carcinoma (carcinoma group). On the basis of normal values found in our laboratory, steroid levels were above normal in 4.5% of the controls, 4.7% of the familiality group, 38.5% of the hyperplasia group (P less than 0.01 vs controls) and 61.1% of the carcinoma group (P less than 0.001 vs control group). The mean testosterone level in the carcinoma group (11.3 +/- 6.78 S.D.) and the mean androstanediol level in the hyperplasia group (47.25 +/- 31.0 S.D.) were significantly higher than those of the control group (testosterone 6.25 +/- 3.48 S.D., androstanediol 32.55 +/- 20.0 S.D.). No significant difference was found in mean testosterone or androstanediol levels between the control group and the familiality group (testerone 5.41 +/- 3.6 S.D., androstanediol 29.38 +/- 15.89 S.D.). We conclude that increased excretion of androgenic steroids is a hormonal abnormality common to breast cancer patients and to patients with breast epithelial hyperplasia, but not to subjects with a family history of carcinoma of the breast.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Circulating levels of testosterone, 17 beta-oestradiol, luteinising hormone and prolactin in postmenopausal breast cancer patients.

Serum testosterone, 17 beta-oestradiol, luteinising hormone (LH) and prolactin were measured in 28 postmenopausal breast cancer patients after mastectomy and in 30 postmenopausal normal controls. In the patient group, mean levels of oestradiol, LH and prolactin did not differ significantly from those of the control group. Mean testosterone levels were higher in breast cancer patients than in normal controls, either considering the overall groups (P less than 0.001) or dividing them into subgroups according to years since menopause. Breast cancer patients were divided into 2 subgroups according to time since mastectomy: 19 patients had been examined within a year of mastectomy and 9 patients some years after mastectomy. Testosterone, but not oestradiol, LH or prolactin values in each subgroup were still significantly higher (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.02, respectively) than in normal controls. Years since menopause were significantly correlated with testosterone (r = 0.533, P less than 0.01) but not with the other hormones in the cancer group. These results confirm our previous findings of increased urinary testosterone values in postmenopausal breast cancer patients and support the hypothesis that androgens may play a role in the development of breast cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Increased urinary androgen excretion is a hormonal abnormality detectable before the clinical onset of breast cancer.

Six patients who developed breast cancer between the ages of 27 and 55 years had been examined for their urinary excretion of testosterone and androstanediol 17 to 69 months before the clinical onset of their cancer. Each of them showed higher than normal excretion values of testosterone or androstanediol, or both. At the time of hormonal examination, the patients were considered at risk for breast cancer because their history had included one or more of the following factors: previous mammary disease, familiality, sterility or subfertility, menstrual cycle irregularities. On the basis of this evidence, it would seem that high androgenic activity is a risk factor for developing breast cancer in patients with the "adverse" history.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Increased urinary androgen levels in patients with carcinoma in situ of the breast with onset while taking oral contraceptives.

Urinary testosterone, androstanediol, ethiocolanolone, and androsterone glucuronide were determined by use of gas chromatography in four patients with carcinoma in situ of the breast. In all the patients, one or more of these hormones were higher than normal. This finding supports previous reports from our laboratory of increased androgen excretion in patients with fibrocystic disease or infiltrating carcinoma of the breast. Carcinoma in situ arose while the four patients were taking oral contraceptives. The progestational component of the pill, a nonderivative of testosterone, may carry with it some androgenic properties. This fact and the discovery of increased androgen excretion levels in these four patients led us to suppose that androgens could play a role in the development of breast cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Paradoxical effects associated with supranormal urinary testosterone excretion in premenopausal women with breast cancer: increased risk of postmastectomy recurrence and higher remission rate after ovariectomy.

Urinary testosterone excretion was measured in 18 normal premenopausal women, 80 women studied shortly after mastectomy for primary operable breast cancer, and 93 women with either metastatic breast cancer (77) or primary inoperable breast cancer (16) who were to be ovariectomized. Forty-two of the 93 were restudied after the ovariectomy. The control women showed a normal distribution of testosterone excretion, up to 12 micrograms daily; the postmastectomy patients showed a bimodal distribution, with 14 patients (17.5%) having values above 12 micrograms (up to 39 micrograms) daily. In the metastatic group, 24 of 77 patients (31.1%) had urinary testosterone excretion greater than 12 micrograms daily (up to 77 micrograms). The difference in percentage of high excretors was significant (p less than 0.02). Of the patients treated by ovariectomy, 27 had supranormal testosterone excretion preoperatively, and 16 of these (59.2%) had remissions; 66 had normal excretion preoperatively, and 21 of these (31.8%) had remissions. The difference was significant (p less than 0.02). Urinary testosterone excretion was restudied postoperatively in 42 of the 93 ovariectomized patients. Values were normal preoperatively in 31, and these were unchanged postoperatively. Values were supranormal preoperatively in 11; all of these fell significantly after ovariectomy, to normal in 8 cases. These findings appear to confirm the ovarian source of the excessive urinary testosterone. The following conclusions were drawn. There is a subgroup of premenopausal women with primary operable breast cancer who have supranormal urinary testosterone excretion; the incidence of this abnormality in women with recurrent metastatic disease after mastectomy is nearly twice as high. It can be calculated that the finding of supranormal urinary testosterone shortly after mastectomy represents virtually a 100% risk of recurrence, in contrast to a recurrence rate of about 38% in women with normal testosterone excretion. Patients with supranormal testosterone excretion prior to therapeutic ovariectomy have nearly twice as high a remission rate as do those with normal testosterone excretion.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Breast cancer years after hysterectomy and bilateral ovariectomy and increased androgenic activity.

26 patients, in whom hysterectomy and bilateral ovariectomy had been performed for a gynecological indication several years before, were tested for urinary testosterone (by a gas chromatographic method) and interstitial cell-stimulating hormone (ICSH) (by a hemagglutination-inhibition method). 12 patients did not develop any pathology of the breast 8.1 +/- 2.2 years after ovariectomy (control group), and 14 patients developed breast cancer 13.0 +/- 3.0 years after ovariectomy (breast cancer group). The average number of years following ovariectomy did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the mean values of testosterone and of ICSH excretion between the patients of the control group and those of the breast cancer group, but a significant proportion (6 out of 14) of the breast cancer group patients had a much higher testosterone excretion than the highest level (8.4 microgram/24 h) in patients of the control group. This incidence (42.8%) tested by the chi-square method was found to be significant (p less than 0.02).

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1979

Correlation between clinical response to bilateral oophorectomy, estrogen receptors and urinary androgen excretion in 49 patients with advanced breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to find out if it is possible to predict the clinical response to bilateral oophorectomy in premenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer. Two methods of determination were used before oophorectomy: 1) the presence of estrogen receptors in the tumor tissue; 2) the urinary concentration of androgens. The clinical response to oophorectomy was evaluated after a six-month follow-up. Determinations carried out on 49 patients showed that a significant correlation exists between clinical response to oophorectomy and androgenic activity alone or in combination with estrogen receptors when both tests give concordant results.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Correlation between urinary testosterone or estrogen excretion levels and interstitial cell-stimulating hormone concentrations in normal postmenopausal women.

The purpose of the present study was to find out whether there is a correlation between the urinary levels of testosterone or of estrogens (estrone and estradiol) and ICSH urinary concentration in normal postmenopausal women. Examination of 35 normal subjects at different postmenopausal ages (from one year to over 10 years after menopause) showed a highly significant inverse correlation between ICSH and testosterone urinary excretion levels (coefficient of correlation "r" equals minus 0.548), but none between the urinary estrogen excretion levels and ICSH urinary concentrations.

Endometrium↗
PubMed1975

Androgens in breast cancer. III. Breast cancer recurrences years after mastectomy and increased androgenic activity.

To test the hypothesis that increased androgenic activity is involved in breast cancer, the urinary testosterone was assayed in 19 clinically cured breast cancer patients and in 22 patients developing metastases from breast cancer during the same period of observation (5 to 15 years after mastectomy). The levels in the clinically cured patients were near normal whereas those in patients with metastases were significantly above normal.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors of risk for breast cancer influencing post-menopausal long-term hormone replacement therapy.

The advantages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are well documented in contrasting the symptomatology of climacterium and in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with coronary heart disease and osteoporotic fractures of postmenopausal age. However, growing evidence points to increased breast cancer risk in HRT long-term users, and the adverse effect would, obviously, overwhelm any other benefit. At present, the risk/benefit ratio of HRT is an object of hot debate, and we feel it necessary and urgent to select women who can safely benefit from HRT and women whose risk of breast cancer can be perilously increased by the raised hormonal levels related to HRT. We have reviewed studies on the breast cancer risk in HRT users and data on the interaction between steroid hormones and breast cancer. Reasoning that the outcome of mammary cancer can be increased by hormonal overstimulation of the breast, we have focused on those factors of risk that could be further enhanced by the exogenous hormonal stimulus of HRT, so as to cause a further significant increase in the risk of breast cancer. We conclude that some biologic and clinical markers, namely android obesity, bone density, mammographic density, androgen and estrogen circulating levels, alcohol consumption, benign breast disease, and familiarity, should be carefully considered before prescribing long-term HRT. Our analysis suggests that HRT could increase the risk of breast cancer and useless in preventing coronary heart disease and osteoporotic fractures when administered in women with positivity for one or more of these markers.

Bone Density↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Urinary testosterone values in patients with ovarian metastases from breast cancer.

Nineteen patients with advanced breast cancer were tested for urinary testosterone before therapeutic ovariectomy. Histologic examination revealed metastases to the ovary in every case and interstitial hyperplasia in 16 cases. The range of urinary testosterone levels was wider but the mean value significantly higher than in 18 normal controls. The values decreased distinctly in 5 out of 8 patients tested 1 month after ovariectomy. The decrease suggests that the ovary, with much probability the interstitial tissue of the ovary, is the site of the increased androgenic activity found in patients with ovarian metastases from breast cancer.

Adult↗