Plasma steroids in benign prostatic hypertrophy and carcinoma of the prostate

Cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH-P), progesterone, testosterone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) were determined by RIA after chromatographic separation of steroids on Sephadex LH-20 columns, in 54 hospitalized patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and in 32 hospitalized patients with prostatic carcinoma (PCA) (T34, N01, M01). The patients' values were compared with those of 63 age-matched controls. Increased cortisol and DHT levels, subnormal estrogen and 17-OH-P values and normal progesterone level were found in both benign and malignant groups. Higher mean values for testosterone, and T/DHT ratio and lower mean values for E2/T ratio were found in PCA, as compared with those in BPH. An age invariance of cortisol, testosterone, T/DHT ratio and estradiol was found in both BPH and PCA, instead of the age dependence found in normal subjects. The normal relations between testosterone and its precursor (17-OH-P) and its peripheral metabolite (E2), respectively, and the normal relation between estrone and 17-OH-P were not evident in either BPH or PCA group. The normal direct relation between testosterone and DHT has been found in both patient groups.