Clinical investigative experience with steroid hormones in breast cancer

T diseases as well as other growth processes appear to be governed to a considerable extent by steroid hormones. This suggests that one insight into the basic mechanisms of cancer might be gained by a comprehensive study of the relative effects on the disease of natural, synthetic, and allied steroid compounds possessing different types and degrees of functional activity and chemical configurations. It is visualized that some common denominator might be unearthed that will provide essential information concerning further avenues to the study of endocrine-cancer relationships. Accordingly, we have designed a program to test this hypothesis. Among the studies performed on patients with neoplastic diseases and control subjects submitted to steroid therapy with the prospect of correlation are: (1) clinical and histological evaluation of the response of the tumor, (2) the relative effects of various steroids and allied compounds, (3) attempts to relate systemic and other effects with the changes i n the tumor, (4) metabolic alterations, and (5) determination of excretion patterns of urinary steroids before, during, and after hormonal administration.