Urinary testosterone values in patients with ovarian metastases from breast cancer

Nineteen patients with advanced breast cancer were tested for urinary testosterone before therapeutic ovariectomy. Histologic examination revealed metastases to the ovary in every case and interstitial hyperplasia in 16 cases. The range of urinary testosterone levels was wider but the mean value significantly higher than in 18 normal controls. The values decreased distinctly in 5 out of 8 patients tested 1 month after ovariectomy. The decrease suggests that the ovary, with much probability the interstitial tissue of the ovary, is the site of the increased androgenic activity found in patients with ovarian metastases from breast cancer.