On the Production of Endometrial Moles with Steroid Hormones

Abstract

It is well known since the investigations of Loeb (1) that the uterus, if it is traumatized while under the influence of an active corpus luteum, responds by the formation of a structure not unlike the maternal portion of the placenta. This growth may become quite large and assume the appearance of a decidual tumor. It has, therefore, been termed a deciduoma. The hormonal mechanisms controlling deciduoma formation have been studied by Selye and McKeown (2) and it appears well established that the presence of corpus luteum hormone is indispensable for the production of the tumor, while large doses of estrogens prevent its formation. Another type of abnormal response of the endometrium to trauma has been seen in spayed rats pretreated with estrogens. In such animals large, succulent tumors develop in the endometrial stroma at the site of trauma. Macro-scopically and microscopically these tumors are rather similar in appearance to hydatidiform moles; they are translucent and of a pinkish color, and upon histologic examination prove to consist mainly of a gelatinous connective tissue with much intercellular substance. In order to emphasize their similarity to hydatidiform moles, and at the same time to point out their endometrial origin, they have been termed “endometrial moles” (2–4).