Glucosiduronidation and esterification of androsterone by human breast tumors in vitro.

The metabolism of 3H-androsterone was studied in homogenates (fortified with uridine 5'-diphosphoglucuronic acid and adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate) of eighteen breast tumors, one muscle underlying the primary breast carcinoma and metastatic axillary lymph nodes from a patient with suspected primary breast cancer. The major metabolites identified were less polar than androsterone. On saponification these lipoidal derivatives afforded androsterone as the only product (3 to 48%). Unmetabolized androsterone and lesser quantities of epiandrosterone, 5 alpha-androstane- alpha, 17 beta-diol and 5 alpha-androstane-3,17-dione comprised the free steroid fraction. Androsterone glucosiduronate was isolated (0.17-4.1%) from weight breast tumor homogenates and from the node tissue incubation (17%). There was no apparent correlation between glucuronyltransferase activity and histopathology or estrogen receptor content.