THE PITUITARY BODY 



promise as a therapeutic agent, both because its gonadotropic 

 effects are nearly complete and because it is remarkably 

 slowly metabolized, apparently not being excreted but only 

 undergoing a slow destruction. 



Gonadotropic hormone can be found in certain neoplasms 

 in man such as hydatidiform mole, chorionepithelioma, cer- 

 tain malignant tumors of the testis (especially teratoid neo- 

 plasms),^^ and in some extragenital tumors (e.g., sarcoma of 

 breast or bone). Urinary excretion of hormone may be marked 

 in patients with hydatidiform mole, chorionepithelioma, or 

 testicular tumor; its course in relation to treatment may fur- 

 nish information of great value with respect to prognosis. 

 The excreted gonadotropic hormones may be different — that 

 of chorionepithelioma or hydatidiform mole resembles the 

 prolan of normal pregnancy, whereas those associated with 

 testicular neoplasms may have different or additional bio- 

 logical effects. 



It has not been shown that the moderate quantities of 

 gonadotropic hormone excreted by women with other types 

 of carcinoma of the genital tract do not arise in the anterior 

 pituitary. 



^^ The absence of gonadotropic hormone in the urine does not indicate that a 

 testicular tumor is not mahgnant. 



[50 



