Pretreatment hormone levels in prostatic cancer.

Pretreatment plasma concentrations of total testosterone, prolactin, and total estradiol-17 beta (E2) were measured in 123 prostatic cancer patients who were categorized into groups according to the UICC classification. Patients with intracapsular tumour without metastases had significantly higher (p less than 0.05) pretreatment total estradiol levels than those with more advanced disease. The patients were treated either by orchiectomy or estrogens. The mean follow-up time was 48 months. Higher pretreatment estradiol and testosterone levels were associated with better survival. Prolactin assays seemed to be of no value in this respect.