Discussions & Conclusions :
The result of the tests with Torii method, a modified Thorn test, for adrenal cortical function on cancer patients disclosed a normal limit of function in all control healthy persons, functional insueciency in 50% of non-cancer surgical patients and in 90% of cancer patients.
In order to clarify as to whether there are any relations between adrenal cortical insuffiency and the growth of the tumor or not, all experiment was carried out to transplant the tumor to animals. The degree of adrenal cortical insufficiency on Ehilich ascitic cancer animals was increased as the rate of tumor growth in order of 10% decrease in function on third day, 40% on sixth day, 60% on ninth day, 70% on twelveth day, 90% on fifteenth day after the tumor transplantation. With the assumption of adrenal cortical insufficiency being related to toxohormone, and to demonstrate the relationship. Thron test was performed after injecting of 100 ㎎ of toxohormone to mouse : adrenal cortical insufficiency occurred in all cases examined. It coincided with the data of the similar experimental work by Y.K. Kywon who showed adrenal cortical insufficiency in 92% of cases. Histopathological changes of the adrenal cortices revealed evident degenerative changes as the rate of the tumor growth, and it was evident that these changes were due to toxohormone.
The influence on the adrenal cortices of normal animals by the degenerated adrenal cortices due to tumor tissue or toxohormone was studies by means of injection of the emulsion of the adrenal cortex of ascitic cancer animals on the third, ninth, fifteenth day after cancer transplantation to normal animals. 0.1 ㏄ of 1% solution, 0.25 ㏄ of 1% solution, 0.25 ㏄ of 2% solution, 0.5 ㏄ of 2% solution were injected to mouse, respectiuely. Although the number of eosinophils in the mouse blood showed in general a tendency to decrease on the third day after tumor tranplantation, it was increased remarkably on the ninth and fifteenth day after tumor transplantation. This suggested of the presence of an influence of disturbance upon the normal adrenal cortex by the degenerated adrenal cortex. Cancer transplanted animals showed in general a decrease in eosinophils by a stimulation in the early stage and a marked increase in the later stage. These were in agreement with the findings of hypefunction in the early stage and hypofunction of the adrenal cortex in the later stage reported ty Sokoloff, Okamoto.
H.K.Lee reported the accelerative growth of animal transplanted cancer by degenerated adrenal cortex due to 3-methylcholanthrene. Tte purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between the degenerated adrenal cortex due to tumor and tumor growth. At first, in order to know of the influence on the growth of tumor by the normal adrenal cortex, the emulsion of the adrenal cortex of the normal mouse was injected to transplanted cancer animals. The adrenal cortex of the normal mouse inhibited the growth of the tumor in the ratio of the injected amount. In the contrast, the emulsion of the adrenal cortex from Ehrlich ascitic cancer injected to Ehilich ascitic cancer transplanted mouse demonstrated an acceleration of the growth of the tumoer, in general. The fact that showed degenerative changes as the growth of the tumor and the degenerated cortex accelerated the growth of the tumor in cancer animals on the other hand, makes easy to understand the decrease in size of the tumor mass by the removal of both adrenal cortices in cancer patients. The nature of inhibiting and accrterating substances in the adrenal cortex on the tumor growth is open to study.
Summary :
Hypofunction or dysfunction of the adrenal cortex fras produced and atudied clinically and experimentally in cancer patients, cancer animals and toxohormone animals. After the clarification of histopathological changes of degenerative alteration of the adrenal cortices, the degenerated adrenal cortex was experimentally demonstrated to have an action of acceleration on the growth of malignant tumor.
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