Broughton A
Am J Clin Pathol. 1975 Nov;64(5):618-24. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/64.5.618.
The radioimmunoassay of ACTH was used in a routine laboratory to localize the site of the lesion in 20 patients with Cushing's syndrome. Eight of the patients had no detectable circulating ACTH and had adrenal tumors removed, 12 had high levels and were diagnosed as having pituitary Cushing's syndrome. Very high levels of plasma ACTH were found in eight patients who had primary adrenal insufficiency, while ACTH was undetectable in ten patients with secondary hypoadrenalism. The routine use of this assay in endocrinology should reduce the hospitalization of patients under investigation for disorders of the pituitary--adrenal axis. Eight patients who had the ectopic ACTH syndrome and carcinoma of the lung were found to have very high levels of ACTH with no diurnal variation. Forty-seven patients with oat-cell carcinoma but without evidence of the ectopic ACTH syndrome had normal ACTH levels. A possible role of ACTH and other peptide hormones as tumor markers is mentioned.
促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）放射免疫测定法被用于一家常规实验室，以定位20例库欣综合征患者的病变部位。其中8例患者循环ACTH检测不到，切除了肾上腺肿瘤；12例患者ACTH水平高，被诊断为垂体性库欣综合征。8例原发性肾上腺功能不全患者血浆ACTH水平非常高，而10例继发性肾上腺功能减退患者检测不到ACTH。在内分泌学中常规使用该检测方法应能减少因垂体 - 肾上腺轴紊乱接受调查患者的住院时间。8例患有异位ACTH综合征和肺癌的患者ACTH水平非常高，且无昼夜变化。47例燕麦细胞癌患者但无异位ACTH综合征证据者ACTH水平正常。文中提到了ACTH和其他肽类激素作为肿瘤标志物的可能作用。
