Biochemical endocrinology of prostatic tumors.

Abstract

This chapter discusses the biochemical endocrinology of prostatic tumors. The hormone dependency of benign and malignant tumors of the prostate in man is well-established. Concerning benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), controversial theories have been proposed with respect to both androgens and estrogens as the most important factors for the development of the disease. The etiology and pathogenesis of both types of prostatic tumors are still far from being understood. The chapter focuses on the data obtained from studies in human subjects by which induction and growth of both human tumors can be studied. In untreated patients with either BPH or prostatic cancer, blood hormone levels generally fluctuate in the normal range. Their determination, therefore, does not substantially improve the understanding of either the etiology or the pathogenesis of the disease in question. Recent data point in the direction of alterations in steroid metabolism at the cellular level of the BPH and prostatic cancer. The idea of an acquired error of metabolism as a possible cause of BPH, though highly speculative, seems to be attractive and promising.