Steroid Hormone Metabolism in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

E ARLIER REPORTS from these laboratories have described abnormalities in the production and metabolism of adrenocortical hormones in patients with chronic lymphatic ‘ .2 In order to explore further the possible relationship of adrenocortical function to neoplastic disease of the hematopoietic tissues, similar studies have now been made of a group of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. The majority of these patients were in good general condition at the time of the study; a smaller group was acutely ill, and one subject was otherwise well but under treatment with a chemotherapeutic drug. These latter are included for comparison with the “well” patients in order to shed light on some possible factors which might influence adrenocortical function in this disease. The results of the present study differ significantly from the earlier findings in chronic lymphatic leukemia. There was no evidence of the prominent sex difference in steroid metabolism noted in lymphatic leukemia. The depressed output of corticoid metabolites seen in men and the low production of androgen metabolites seen in both sexes with lymphatic leukemia were likewise absent. However, the abnormal pattern of peripheral hydrocortisone metabolism previously observed in chronic lymphatic leukemia ( i.e., more tetrahydrocortisol than tetrahydrocortisone ) was also found in chronic myelogenous leukemia, if anything, to an even greater extent. The findings indicate that these two diseases, clinically so different, are also characterized by differences in endocrine function.