Role of Pituitary Hormones in the Growth of Human Breast Cancer

Olof H. Pearson, Andrea Manni, Mark Chambers, Jerald Brodkey, James S. Marshall

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypophysectomy was performed in 28 women with Stage IV breast cancer who were treated initially with antiestrogens. Six of 13 patients who responded to tamoxifen and 2 of 12 who failed to benefit from tamoxifen obtained remissions from hypophysectomy. The remissions average 11+ months. Three of 8 patients treated initially with antiestrogens have responded to androgen therapy. The results suggest that hormones other than estrogen, which appears to play a major role, may be involved in stimulating the growth of some human breast cancers. Prolactin receptors were detectable in 51% of human breast cancers and were detected in both estrogen receptor-positive and-negative tumors. Preliminary clinical correlations suggest that prolactin receptors will not be useful in predicting response to antiestrogen therapy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4323-4326
Number of pages4
JournalCancer Research
Volume38
StatePublished - Nov 1978

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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