ENDOCRINE STUDIES IN POST‐MENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH OVARIAN TUMOURS

Abstract
Summary: An endocrine assessment was made in 78 post‐menopausal women.The urinary excretion of oestriol was greater than 10 μg. per 24 hours in 14 out of 31 cases with malignant ovarian tumours, in 2 out of 24 cases with benign ovarian tumours, and in 6 out of 23 cases without ovarian tumours. Although the urinary oestriol excretion was increased in all 8 cases with mucinous carcinoma it was raised in only 4 out of 18 cases with serous carcinoma. Some of the greatest amounts of urinary oestriol were found in cases without ovarian tumours.The urinary excretion of pregnanediol was increased in 6 out of 18 cases. These six patients also had increased oestriol excretion.The excretion of steroids was normal after oöphorectomy.Tests of adrenal cortical activity and ovarian vein blood analysis also point to the diseased ovary as the site of increased steroid synthesis.The correlation of increased urinary oestriol with vaginal cornification index was fair, but with vaginal bleeding and endometrial activity was poor.

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