Cortisol, estradiol-I7B, progesterone, testosterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin altered 3H-thymidine uptake in tissue culture suspensions of human breast carcinoma in 10 of 20 tumors studied. I n 6 patients where there was an opportunity to observe the clinical response to hormonal therapy, an apparent correlation was present between the in vitro d a t a and clinical course. This correlation suggests that this in vitro assay may be useful in selecting patients for hormonal therapy.
ARCINOMA OF THE BREAST MAY RETAIN THE
C dependence on or susceptibility to the hormones that influence normal breast growth and development. Many tumors respond either to ablative procedures such as oophorectomy, adrenalectomy, or hypophysectomy or to exogenous hormones. Since hormonal dependence or responsiveness has n o specific histologic correlation, and since the several ablative and hormonal treatments are not without risk, it would be important if an in vitro test to identify hormone-responsive tumors could be devised which might aid in selecting patients for therapy.
Previous workers have studied the in vitro effect of estrogens, androgens, cortisol, progesterone, and prolactin on carcinoma of the breast. Hollander et al.4 found that estradiol-17B stimulated a-ketogluterate production in homogenates of tumor, and, of these, 2 pa-From the