ONCOLOGICAL DISEASES

• Prostate cancer

The prostate is a male genital gland responsible, along with the seminal vesicles, for the production of seminal fluid.

This fluid is mixed with the spermatozoa to form sperm. Like any other cancer, prostate cancer is caused by the proliferation of abnormal cells. It is very frequent in older men.

When the cancer has spread outside the prostate, i.e. to other organs, the new tumors are referred to as metastases.

Male hormones, particularly testosterone, stimulate the development of this cancer as they stimulate the proliferation of prostate cancer cells.

• Neuroendocrine tumors

Neuroendocrine tumors are rare and progress slowly. They are generally located in the digestive tract.  Neuroendocrine tumors produce abnormally high quantities of hormones. Depending on their nature, these hormones will cause certain symptoms. For instance, in serotonin hypersecretion, patients will have chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and flushing in the face, neck and chest: this is known as the carcinoid syndrome. Despite the slow rate of progression, these tumors are often diagnosed at a metastatic stage.

The vast majority of endocrine tumors carry somatostatin receptors.

OTHER DISEASES LINKED TO REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES

• Uterine fibroma

Uterine fibroma is due to a benign proliferation of the uterine muscle fibres. It affects the uterus by increasing its volume and/or giving it an abnormal shape.

The fibroma never develops into a cancerous tumor, but it may cause symptoms (pain, discomfort, bleeding). Its development is stimulated by reproductive hormones.

• Endometriosis

The endometrium is the tissue which lines the inside of the uterine cavity. It proliferates each month under the influence of female hormones, and is eliminated as cell debris and blood at the end of the menstrual cycle.

Endometriosis is a disease characterised by the proliferation of endometrium implants outside the uterus, in different places around the body.

This tissue will continue to react to hormonal stimulations, triggering inflammatory reactions which cause pelvic pain and, in 25% of cases, infertility.

• Precocious puberty

Precocious puberty is characterised by the early onset (before 8 years old in girls, and before 10 years old in boys) of sexual development and by an accelerated growth rate. It is due to the early activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis responsible for the early secretion of reproductive hormones.

One of the consequences of this disease is a reduced adult height. Although these children grow faster, it only lasts a short while and their growth stops earlier. This is due to the fact that reproductive hormones cause bone growth plates to fuse, thus stopping the growth.