[Endocrine system reaction in relation to the clinical manifestations of lung cancer]

Using radiobiochemical methods "in vitro" by means of determining hormone production in blood serum, the authors studied the functional state of the hypophysis, adrenal glands, the pancreas and thyroid in 51 patients with lung cancer: stage I--in 8 patients, II--in 7, III--in 23 and IV--in 13. Histological structure: adenocarcinoma--in 9, epidermoid cancer--in 29, undifferentiated cancer--in 5. The analysis indicated that the hormonal disbalance in the organism of lung cancer patients is not evidenced by secondary clinical manifestations of the disease (atelectasis, suppuration, etc), there being a number of general regularities in the response of the hypophysis, adrenal glands, the pancreas and thyroid depending on the stage. This dependence shows a sinusoidal pattern maximum pronounced in stage I. Some common regularities in the endocrinous response of the hypophysis and adrenal glands are observed in different histostructure of the tumor, the response increasing in the following sequence: adenocarcinoma, epidermoid, undifferentiated cancer.