[Morpho-functional characteristics of the pineal gland in patients with cancer at various sites]

Morphologic and histochemical changes in the pineal gland were studied in 60 autopsied cases of cancer of various sites. The changes were similar to those of the involutive pattern but appeared to be more pronounced and developed at an earlier stage. A decline in the gland activity was matched by a decrease in its size, specific weight of its parenchymal tissue and size of cell nuclei and nucleoli. Also, the gland's cells exhibited higher levels of lipids and lower concentrations of monoaminoxidase and RNA. The degree and extent of those changes were in correlation with tumor stage and duration of disease but did not depend on the site of tumor.