The study of steroid hormones in epithelial ovarian tumours

We examined the estradiol and testosterone content of 13 benign, 5 border-line and 26 malignant epithelial ovarian tumours with the aid of an indirect immunoperoxidase method. While the two hormones were rarely detected in the epithelium of benign tumours, they were frequently present in border-line or malignant tumours. In cases where the intersitial substance of the tumours was coupled to a glandular hyperplasia of the endometrium, estradiol predominance could be demonstrated. In the epithelial cells of malignant tumours of cytological grade 2 of the Broders grading system, which are of the highly differentiated and border-line types, the simultaneous presence of estradiol and testosterone is more frequent (4/5 and 6/9) than in poorly differentiated tumours of grades 3 and 4 (4/17). In the group of grade 2 with better prognosis, the tumour cells also contain estradiol. Similar tendency can be observed in patients with poorly differentiated tumours. Our observations refer to the possible prognostic value of the estradiol content of tumour cells.