INFLUENCE OF HORMONES ON CARCINOGENESIS OF UTERINE CERVIX OF MICE INDUCED BY METHYLCHOLANTHRENE

The influence of sex and gonadotropic hormones, including estradiol benzoate, testosterone propionate, progesterone, chorionic gonadotropic hormone, and combinations of estrogen- androgen and estrogen-gonadotropin, on carcinogenesis in the uterine cervix was studied in mice treated with methylcholanthrene.Estradiol benzoate promoted the development of methylcholanthreneinduced cervical carcinoma and castrated mice were more sensitive to the estrogen treatment. In the 27-37-day experiments, the incidence of squamous cell carcinomas was 36.8% in castrated mice receiving estrogen and 12.0 % in controls having only ovariectomy. A high incidence of cervical lesions was obtained when a large dosage of estradiol benzoate (15μg per week) was administered. In intact mice receiving estrogen injections prior to the MC treatment, the incidence of cervical carcinomas appeared to increase slightly.The administration of testosterone propionate together with estradiol benzoate induced pseudopregnancy changes in the endocervical canal, and this treatment exerted no greater influence on the development of cervical carcinoma than the giving of estrogen alone. No effect on the incidence of cervical lesions was noted in intact mice with combined treatment of estradiol benzoate and testosterone propionate. Progesterone injections had an inhibitory effect on intact mice.Our preliminary work shows that the administration of human chorionic gonadotropic hormone in combination with minute amounts of estradiol benzoate promotes the development of cervical carcinoma in castrated mice. The gonadotropin (luteinizing hormone) appeared to have some influence on the carcinogenesis of the uterine cervix.Almost all carcinomas occurred at the site where the methylcholanthrene thread was inserted, indicating that trauma of the cervical epithelium may be intimately associated with cancer formation.