[Hormone-dependency of the human prostate]

Abstract

The development and normal and pathologic growth of the human prostate depends on testicular secretions. The human prostate contains receptors for the three sex steroids: testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone. The assumption that benign prostatic hyperplasia would result of a dihydrotestosterone excess is contradicted by the measurement of androgen receptors, which are not different in hyperplastic compared to normal prostate. Contrawise, hyperplastic prostate contains subnormal amounts of estradiol and progesterone receptors. The assay of hormone receptors does not seem to have any predictive value for the endocrine therapy of prostate cancer. However, tumors rich in nuclear androgen receptors or in dihydrotestosterone have longer remission interval and survival in response to hormone treatment.