[Plasma prolactin and thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH) in patients with breast cancer (author's transl)]

In order to investigate plasma prolactin and thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH) concentration and pituitary reserve of these two hormones in patients with breast cancer, following examinations were carried out. Plasma prolactin concentration was measured before and 15, 30, 60, 90 minutes after the 500mug of thyrotropin-releasing-hormone (TRH) i.v. injection in 22 patients with breast cancer and 4 patients with benign breast disease. All patients did not take any hormonal therapy and any medication inducing prolactin secretion. Ten healthy females were also tested as controls. Plasma prolactin concentration was estimated by a double antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique using hPRL RIA kit provided by NIAMDD. The basal prolactin concentration in patients with breast cancer was 18.6 +/- ng/ml (Mean +/- SEM), and it was slightly higher than the control group (14.7 +/- 2.2 ng/ml), but not statistically significant. In 6 out of 22 patients with breast cancer, high plasma prolactin concentrations more than 25 ng/ml were observed. The maximal plasma prolactin concentration following the TRH injection was obtained at 15-30 minutes after TRH in most patients with breast cancer. The maximal value was 87.4 +/- 9.2 ng/ml, and it was near the upper limit of normal range of prolactin response, and not significantly higher than the maximal value in the control group (59.7 +/- 5.7 ng/ml). In 7 patients with breast cancer, the maximal prolactin values more than 100 ng/ml were obtained after TRH injection. There was no statistically significant difference between early breast cancer group (TNM: stage I & II, N=14) and advanced breast cancer group (TNM: stage III & IV, N=6) in both the plasma prolactin concentration and the pituitary prolactin reserve...