[Testosterone, albumin and sex steroid-binding globulin in the blood serum of patients with laryngeal cancer].

Since endocrine factors play a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of precancerous and tumor diseases of the pharynx, the study was concerned with assays of total testosterone, albumin, sex steroid-binding globulin and free and protein-bound androgens in the blood serum of patients with malignant and benign tumors of the larynx. Laryngeal cancer patients revealed raised levels of total, free and albumin-bound testosterone matched by a lower concentration of sex steroid-binding globulin. Maximum differences between the study groups were established in the relationship between the fraction of testosterone associated with sex steroid-binding globulin and that of free androgen. An important role of androgens in the pathogenesis of laryngeal cancer was inferred. Further studies of androgen secretion and transport by blood proteins in laryngeal cancer patients are essential for the investigations of pathways of sex steroid hormones action.