Steroid hormone receptors in laryngeal carcinoma.

The larynx has long been shown to be a target organ for androgenic steroids in both women and men, and specific androgen receptors have been determined in normal laryngeal mucosa and in laryngeal carcinoma tissue. In this study, samples from 21 primary laryngeal carcinomas, from 4 recurrent laryngeal carcinomas and from 1 cervical metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma were obtained at the time of surgery to assay specific androgen, estrogen, and progesterone receptors. Specific androgen receptors were found in 8 samples (31%). The level of receptors varied from 1.7 femtomoles (fmol) per milligram to 7.3 fmol/mg cytosol protein. Detectable levels of specific estrogen receptors were found in 18 samples (69%) and progesterone receptors in 8 of the 15 samples studied (53%). There was no apparent correspondence with donors' sex, since samples from both females and males contained all kinds of receptors. We know that antiestrogen inhibits the growth of squamous carcinoma cells lines positive for estrogen receptors in vitro and that this effect is reversible with the appropriate hormone. Thus, the relatively high percentage of estrogen and progesterone receptors found in laryngeal carcinoma tissue may open new aspects in the treatment of laryngeal carcinoma with antihormones.