[Sex hormones in fibrous dysplasia of the facial bone--an immunohistological study].

Fibrous dysplasia of the facial bones frequently occurs in the maxilla around the time of puberty and becomes inactive when skeletal growth is completed. A case of fibrous dysplasia of the maxilla and sphenoidal-temporal bone in a 19 year-old male was studied, in terms of the presence of estradiol, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. This case underwent partial surgical resection, for cosmetic deformity, of the maxillary tumor which, however, relapsed to preoperative size within three weeks. Estradiol and testosterone were strongly positive and dihydrotestosterone was slightly positive in the tumor cells. Sex hormones were apparently present in the tumor cells and exerted a strong influence on the growth of the fibrous dysplasia.