Quantitative Behavior of Prolan a in Teratoma Testis

Abstract

The appearance of the sex hormone of the anterior hypophysis (Prolan A) in the urine of a man suffering from teratoma testis was first observed by Zondek in 1929. This case and one other observed subsequently by him were reported in March 1930. In September 1930, Heidrich and Fels reported in detail on the behavior of the anterior hypophyseal hormones (Prolan A and B) in a case of testicular chorionepithelioma. In April 1931 the writer and his associates reported their preliminary findings on the use of the Aschheim-Zondek test in the diagnosis of teratoma. In that paper the results in twelve cases of teratoma testis were reported and the observation first made that irradiation of the tumor causes the disappearance of Prolan A from the urine. The absence of the hormone in benign lesions of the testis was also noted. Zondek, in February 1932, reported his observations on the diagnosis of teratoma by means of biological test of the urine, hydrocele fluid, and tumor tissue. He has observed 14 cases, in 4 of which the diagnosis could not be verified by section. The remaining 10 are proved cases, in which the urine was tested before or after operation. Single case records reporting the presence of Prolan A in the urine in various types of teratoma testis have been published by Weinstein and Schofield, Wasterlain, Hady, Paschkis, Johnson, Kantrowitz, Lilienthal, Bollag, and the author. The foregoing constitute the published data on this subject to date. In addition many personal communications have been received relating to the findings of Prolan A in the urine in cases of teratoma testis. A study of 117 consecutive cases of teratoma testis in which the behavior of the hormone of the anterior hypophysis (Prolan A) was determined by means of over one thousand biological tests of the urine, is now presented.