Experimental and Clinical Evidence on the Role of the 17 Keto-Steroids in Prostatic Carcinoma

Abstract

The authors studied the excretion of the 17 keto-steroids in the urine of 15 patients with prostatic carcinoma and 10 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy. The level of excretion of the 17 keto-steroids per 24 hrs. in 6 cases of carcinoma of the prostate with metastases varied from 2.3 mg to 5.4 mg; these patients also had a marked elevation of the basic phosphatase level. The mean level of excretion of the 17 keto-steroids in the 10 cases of benign prostatic hypertrophy ranged from 3.2 to 12.6 mg and did not vary significantly from that for carcinoma of the prostate. Following orchidectomy the output of the 17 keto-steroids in 10 cases of extensive prostatic carcinoma was reduced from 12 to 60% compared to the preoperative total; in 2 patients showing most striking clinical improvement following this operation, the urinary output was reduced from 2.3 to 0.9 and from 12.6 to 6.7 mg for 24 hrs., respectively. Evidently a correlation existed between clinical improvement and % decrease in the keto-steroids originating in the testicle. The basic phosphatase level in patients with prostatic carcinoma and metastatic lesions to bone fell following orchidectomy.