Adrenal function in early and metastatic breast cancer: dexamethasone suppression of plasma cortisol

Plasma cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH-P), progesterone, FSH, LH and prolactin were determined by RIA, in 14 cancer patients without metastases aged between 40 and 74 years (6 cases of breast cancer: T123, N01, M0 and 8 with other forms of cancer). The cancer patients were investigated: (A) under basal conditions, (B) after three days' adrenal suppression by dexamethasone, 3 mg/day and (C) immediately after local radiation therapy (4500 rads). The basal mean hormonal values in these patients showed increased cortisol, decrease 17-OH-P and normal values of progesterone, FSH, LH and prolactin. Plasma cortisol was significantly reduced by adrenal suppression with a percentage reduction of 19.44 without differences between breast cancer patients and patients with other forms of cancer; adrenal suppression induced an increase of 17-OH-P only in male cancer patients. The only significant hormonal changes after local radiation therapy were increased plasma 17-OH-P values in both female and male cancer patients. A second group investigated in the present study consisted of 11 patients (6 castrated and 5 postmenopausal women) with metastatic breast cancer and presented increased plasma cortisol values, decreased 17-OH-P values, and a great scatter in the estrone values, some of them being very high.