Hormone dependency of carcinoma of the human endometrium. Effect of progesterone on glycogen metabolism in the carcinoma tissue.

The glycogen content and glycogen synthetase and glycogen phosphorylase levels were studied in tissues of endometrial carcinoma obtained from 30 patients (27 postmenopausal and three premenopausal) before and after administration of progestogen, and the values were compared with those obtained previously from normal endometrial tissue of premenopausal patients. After the patients had undergone an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the progestogen Lyndiol (lynestrenol, 5.0 mg, and mestranol, 0.15 mg) was administered daily for seven days. In 15 cases of well differentiated carcinoma the glycogen content after the progestogen administration, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the glycogen synthetase enzyme levels, was significantly higher (P less than 0.005) than that in the initial tissue, whereas in the other 15 cases of less differentiated carcinoma no change was observed. This finding that hormonal stimulus in well differentiated carcinoma leads to a similar effect on glycogen metabolism as in normal endometrium of the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle, supports the possibility of progestogen therapy for human endometrial cancer.