title: Peripheral blood steroid levels in Cushing syndrome due to adrenocortical carcinoma or adenoma.
abstract: Measurement of the peripheral vein levels of the steroids in the adrenal biosynthetic pathway affords a further possible definitive method of differentiating adrenocortical carcinoma from adrenal adenoma in the presence of Cushing syndrome. In patients with adrenal carcinoma the blood levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone are far higher than those seen in association with adenoma. In addition, the adrenal cortical carcinoma appears to have a higher ratio of precursors to product in the early part of the biosynthetic path and a lower one in the distal portion than adrenal adenomas. In Cushing syndrome due to adrenal tumor the measurement of serum cortisol is preferably made after chromatographic separation from 11-deoxycortisol in view of the marked cross reactivity in the protein binding procedure.
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000150:complications*; D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply; D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000150:complications*; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone