URINARY STEROIDS FROM BREAST CANCER PATIENTS1

Abstract

A total of 278.2 1. of urine from 20 post-menopausal oo with cancer of the breast was hydrolyzed with HCl and extracted with organic solvents. The neutral fractions of the extracts were examined in 3 batches for their steroid content. Androsterone, 3-[alpha]-hydroxyetiocholanone-17, an impure form of pregnanediol, cholesterol, and a low melting compound, probably a hydrocarbon, were isolated. Inasmuch as all these compounds have been reported as present in the urine of normal [female][female], their mere presence in the urine of cancerous [female][female] was not thought to indicate a relationship of the compounds to malignancy.