The Incidence of Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma in Gonadectomized Female Mice of the Extreme Dilution Strain I. Observations on the Adrenal Cortex*

For some time now studies have been in progress in this laboratory on the relation of gonadectomy to changes in the adrenal cortex and to the development of the secondary sex organs that occurs following certain changes in the cortex. In the dilute brown strain of mice (JAX dba), nodular hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex following gonadectomy has been observed and described (12, 31, 33). This change occurred in castrated male and female mice both, and preceded and then paralleled an increased development of the secondary sex organs. This development was in a female direction in both sexes, and mammary carcinomas were observed in both males and females that had been gonadectomized at birth. No gonadal regeneration was observed. It was then shown that these adrenal and sexual changes were not uniform from strain to strain (30). Strains normally with a high, and others normally with a low incidence of spontaneous mammary carcinoma, were observed in this regard. Two strains, dba and C3H, with a high incidence of mammary carcinoma, have more extensive adrenal cortical hyperplasia and accessory sex organ development than does the C57 black strain, which has a low incidence. The study of adrenal changes and their relationship to accessory sex organs was then extended to include a number of other inbred strains. It was a fortunate circumstance that a number of these had already been developed or were being developed at this laboratory. This report is based upon the extreme dilution strain (JAX ce), in which the adrenal and subsequent sexual