The pattern of ectopic hormone production in lung cancer.

Pulmonary cancers produce many hormonal polypeptides. There is a tumor-specific pattern to the appearance of abnormal adrenal function and inappropriate secretion of vasopressin, which are frequently found in small cell undifferentiated carcinoma but occur only very rarely, if at all, in squamous tumors. Humoral hypercalcemia, on the other hand, occurs almost entirely in squamous tumors and is rarely if ever seen in small cell or large cell tumors or in adenocarcinoma. In contrast, "big ACTH" and beta lipotropin are found in the plasma and tumor extracts of lung cancers of all types. Calcitonin and the beta chain of human chorionic gonadotropin are also found in the plasma of a considerable portion of patients with all histological types of lung cancers.