Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1988 Sep;58(3):379–381. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1988.223

Maternal hormone levels in early gestation of cryptorchid males: a case-control study.

L Bernstein 1, M C Pike 1, R H Depue 1, R K Ross 1, J W Moore 1, B E Henderson 1
PMCID: PMC2246590  PMID: 2902875

Abstract

A case-control study was conducted to assess maternal hormonal factors associated with increased risk of bearing a cryptorchid son. Serum samples were collected during the first trimester of pregnancy from participants in the US Collaborative Perinatal Study. Twenty-five mothers of normal offspring (controls) were individually matched on medical center, age, parity, weight and length of gestation at the time of sampling to women bearing sons who had a diagnosis of cryptorchidism at one year of age or older. Compared with controls, mothers of cryptorchid sons (cases) had significantly greater percentages of non-protein bound (P = 0.010) and albumin-bound (P = 0.014) estradiol during the first trimester of the index pregnancy. On average, cases had 16% more bioavailable oestradiol than controls. Levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, testosterone, non-protein bound testosterone and sex-hormone binding globulin did not differ between the two groups. The data presented support the hypothesis that cryptorchidism results from elevated maternal oestrogen levels early in pregnancy.

Full text

PDF
381

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson D. C. Sex-hormone-binding globulin. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1974 Jan;3(1):69–96. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1974.tb03298.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bernstein L., Depue R. H., Ross R. K., Judd H. L., Pike M. C., Henderson B. E. Higher maternal levels of free estradiol in first compared to second pregnancy: early gestational differences. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986 Jun;76(6):1035–1039. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brown L. M., Pottern L. M., Hoover R. N. Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for testicular cancer. Cancer Res. 1986 Sep;46(9):4812–4816. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burton M. H., Davies T. W., Raggatt P. R. Undescended testis and hormone levels in early pregnancy. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1987 Jun;41(2):127–129. doi: 10.1136/jech.41.2.127. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Coscrove M. D., Benton B., Henderson B. E. Male genitourinary abnormalities and maternal diethylstilbestrol. J Urol. 1977 Feb;117(2):220–222. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58407-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Davies T. W., Williams D. R., Whitaker R. H. Risk factors for undescended testis. Int J Epidemiol. 1986 Jun;15(2):197–201. doi: 10.1093/ije/15.2.197. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Depue R. H. Maternal and gestational factors affecting the risk of cryptorchidism and inguinal hernia. Int J Epidemiol. 1984 Sep;13(3):311–318. doi: 10.1093/ije/13.3.311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Depue R. H., Pike M. C., Henderson B. E. Estrogen exposure during gestation and risk of testicular cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1983 Dec;71(6):1151–1155. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gill W. B., Schumacher G. F., Bibbo M. Pathological semen and anatomical abnormalities of the genital tract in human male subjects exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. J Urol. 1977 Apr;117(4):477–480. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58502-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Grocock C. A., Charlton H. M., Pike M. C. Role of the fetal pituitary in cryptorchidism induced by exogenous maternal oestrogen during pregnancy in mice. J Reprod Fertil. 1988 May;83(1):295–300. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0830295. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hammond G. L., Langley M. S., Robinson P. A. A liquid-phase immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for human sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). J Steroid Biochem. 1985 Oct;23(4):451–460. doi: 10.1016/0022-4731(85)90192-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hammond G. L., Lähteenmäki P. L., Lähteenmäki P., Luukkainen T. Distribution and percentages of non-protein bound contraceptive steroids in human serum. J Steroid Biochem. 1982 Oct;17(4):375–380. doi: 10.1016/0022-4731(82)90629-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hammond G. L., Nisker J. A., Jones L. A., Siiteri P. K. Estimation of the percentage of free steroid in undiluted serum by centrifugal ultrafiltration-dialysis. J Biol Chem. 1980 Jun 10;255(11):5023–5026. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Henderson B. E., Benton B., Jing J., Yu M. C., Pike M. C. Risk factors for cancer of the testis in young men. Int J Cancer. 1979 May 15;23(5):598–602. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910230503. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hutson J. M., Donahoe P. K., MacLaughlin D. T. Steroid modulation of Mullerian duct regression in the chick embryo. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 1985 Jan;57(1):88–102. doi: 10.1016/0016-6480(85)90204-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hutson J. M., Donahoe P. K. The hormonal control of testicular descent. Endocr Rev. 1986 Aug;7(3):270–283. doi: 10.1210/edrv-7-3-270. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. McLachlan J. A., Newbold R. R., Bullock B. Reproductive tract lesions in male mice exposed prenatally to diethylstilbestrol. Science. 1975 Dec 5;190(4218):991–992. doi: 10.1126/science.242076. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Newbold R. R., Suzuki Y., McLachlan J. A. Müllerian duct maintenance in heterotypic organ culture after in vivo exposure to diethylstilbestrol. Endocrinology. 1984 Nov;115(5):1863–1868. doi: 10.1210/endo-115-5-1863. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Nomura T., Kanzaki T. Induction of urogenital anomalies and some tumors in the progeny of mice receiving diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy. Cancer Res. 1977 Apr;37(4):1099–1104. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Pardridge W. M. Serum bioavailability of sex steroid hormones. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1986 May;15(2):259–278. doi: 10.1016/s0300-595x(86)80024-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pearlman W. H., Crépy O., Murphy M. Testosterone-binding levels in the serum of women during the normal menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and the post-partum period. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1967 Jul;27(7):1012–1018. doi: 10.1210/jcem-27-7-1012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Schottenfeld D., Warshauer M. E., Sherlock S., Zauber A. G., Leder M., Payne R. The epidemiology of testicular cancer in young adults. Am J Epidemiol. 1980 Aug;112(2):232–246. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112989. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Siiteri P. K., Murai J. T., Hammond G. L., Nisker J. A., Raymoure W. J., Kuhn R. W. The serum transport of steroid hormones. Recent Prog Horm Res. 1982;38:457–510. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-571138-8.50016-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Swerdlow A. J., Wood K. H., Smith P. G. A case-control study of the aetiology of cryptorchidism. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1983 Sep;37(3):238–244. doi: 10.1136/jech.37.3.238. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Tollerud D. J., Blattner W. A., Fraser M. C., Brown L. M., Pottern L., Shapiro E., Kirkemo A., Shawker T. H., Javadpour N., O'Connell K. Familial testicular cancer and urogenital developmental anomalies. Cancer. 1985 Apr 15;55(8):1849–1854. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19850415)55:8<1849::aid-cncr2820550834>3.0.co;2-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Wensing C. J. Testicular descent in some domestic mammals. 3. Search for the factors that regulate the gubernacular reaction. Proc K Ned Akad Wet C. 1973;76(2):196–202. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Whitehead E. D., Leiter E. Genital abnormalities and abnormal semen analyses in male patients exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. J Urol. 1981 Jan;125(1):47–50. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)54895-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Yasuda Y., Kihara T., Tanimura T., Nishimura H. Gonadal dysgenesis induced by prenatal exposure to ethinyl estradiol in mice. Teratology. 1985 Oct;32(2):219–227. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420320210. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES