ESTROGEN EXCRETION IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER OVARIAN IRRADIATION AND OOPHORECTOMY

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Abstract
The urinary excretion of estrone, estradiol-17B and estriol was estimated in 96-hour specimens of urine collected from each of 17 premenopausal breast cancer patients on 5 occasions: (a) during the first part of the menstrual cycle (follicular phase), (b) during the second part of the cycle (luteal phase), (c) two months following ovarian irradiation, (d) four months following ovarian irradiation, and (e) two months following bilateral oophorectomy. The greatest variation in the amount of urinary estrogen seemed to depend on ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Ovarian irradiation reduced significantly the urinary excretion of total estrogen (i.e., the sum of estrone, estradiol-17[beta] and estriol) below that in the follicular phase, and resulted in a marked decrease in the ratio of urinary estriol to estrone+estradiol-17[beta]. Bilateral oophorectomy, performed five months following ovarian irradiation, did not result in any further decrease in urinary estrogen excretion.