Abstract
The relationship between the concentrations of oestradiol, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol in circulating blood and prostatic tissues was studied in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and carcinoma of the prostate. All steroids were measured by radioimmunoassay. In patients with BPH the tissue concentrations of oestradiol, testosterone, DHT and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol expressed per kg wet weight were 228·6 ± 7·4 (s.e.m.) pmol, 1·29 ± 0·06 nmol, 25·61 ± 1·15 nmol and 1·43 ± 0·10 nmol respectively. The corresponding values for carcinomatous tissues were 380·1 ± 19·4 pmol, 7·20 ± 1·10 nmol, 12·32 ± 1·56 nmol and 1·99 ± 0·32 nmol. Significant differences (t-test) were found between the mean concentrations of oestradiol (P <0·001), testosterone (P <0·001), DHT (P <0·001) and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (P <0·05) in prostatic tissues of these two groups of patients. Significant negative correlations were observed between the tissue concentrations of oestradiol and DHT (r = −0·49, P <0·05) and between oestradiol and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (r = −0·44, P <0·05) in BPH but not in malignant tissues. The plasma concentrations of oestradiol, testosterone, DHT and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol in patients with BPH were 147·4 ± 6·9 pmol/l,18·4 ± 1·2 nmol/l,2·6 ± 0·2 nmol/l and 0·84 ± 0·04 nmol/l respectively. The corresponding values for patients with carcinoma of the prostate were 145·5 ± 17·0 pmol/l, 17·3 ± 2·4 nmol/l, 2·0 ± 0·3 nmol/l and 0·56 ± 0·06 nmol/l respectively. The mean plasma 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol was found to be significantly higher in patients with BPH (P <0·01) than with carcinoma. No significant correlations were found between the tissue concentrations of these steroids and the corresponding plasma values, which suggested that their metabolism and accumulation in prostatic tumours are independent of their plasma concentrations.
Subject
Endocrinology,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism