The present study performed on a total of 567 cases of human female breast cancer compares the results of the biochemical assay (dextran-coated charcoal assay = DCC) for oestrogen receptor (ER) with those of several morphological methods developed for the detection of the ER or for the prediction of prognosis by use of other systems (FSA = fluorescent ligand binding assay, ER-ICA = monoclonal antibody assay for ER, LRA = lectin receptor assay using peanut agglutinin, and Barr body estimation). Whereas no correlation at all was observed among the results of the DCC and those of the FSA and Barr body estimation, the ER-ICA and the LRA showed an unanimous tendency towards higher values of ER with increasing intensity of the staining product. The results of the ER-ICA may be expressed by an immuno-reactive score (IRS) calculated from the staining intensity (SI) and the percentage of positive cells (PP). The morphological methods are evaluated with special regard to their correlation with the DCC, their theoretical basis, and their practical application. In summary, the ER-ICA appears to be the sole method directly visualizing the ER protein and--in contrast to the DCC--is therefore completely independent of the content of endogenous or exogenous oestrogens in the tumor tissue. The LRA provides valuable additional information concerning tumour differentiation and possible response to endocrine therapy, whereas the FSA and Barr body estimation should be considered as obsolete and should therefore be abandoned.

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Contrary to widespread opinion, varicocele is a common disorder in children and can be seen in 10-year-old boys. The peak incidence of varicocele is reached at 15 years. Usually the disorder remains asymptomatic and is overlooked. Over 5 years we observed 22 boys with varicocele. Testicular biopsy carried out in 10 of them demonstrated essentially the same changes of tubules, interstitium and blood vessels seen in adults, though in a less severe form. Surgical removal of varicocele should therefore be carried out during childhood as soon after diagnosis as possible, regardless of degree of severity and the presence or absence of symptoms. This averts the danger of progressive and irreversible damage to the testes. The argument that infertility does not necessarily result in each case of varicocele is probably not relevant due to the uncertainty involved in an individual case. The high risk of later infertility should be compared with the low risk of surgery during childhood.

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Two women with normally developed secondary sex characteristics are reported. Both had spontaneous menstrual cycles, the first one during a period of 4 years, the second one started menstrual bleedings at the age of 17 and had menstrual cycles of regular intervals up to the present age of 39. She had given birth to a healthy boy at the age of 31. Both patients are chromatinnegative, of short stature and one has a unilateral webbed neck. Therefore they had to be classified as cases of Turner's syndrome. In cultures of bone marrow and skin fibroblasts the patient who has born a child was shown to have 45 chromosomes (2n + OX). The findings presented are in contrast to latest hypothesis of chromatinnegative Turner's syndrome according to which sex chromosomal anomaly XO leads to development of rudimentary ovaries.

Up to the present only C17-alkylated testosterone- and androstenediolderivates have been used for oral androgen treatment. These steroids given in higher doses or for longer periods all have an inhibitory effect on gonadotrophin secretion of the hypophysis and on the testicular tissue. Investigations with Mesterolone (1-methyl-androstane-17β-ol-3-one), a new androgen, are described. Like other investigators we did not find any inhibitory effect on gonadotrophin-secretion and on the number of spermatozoa. We further showed that there is no effect on the testicular tissue when Mesterolone is given up to a total dose of 12 570 mg over 4 months. 17-ketosteroid excretion in the urine is increased by the metabolite 1α-methyl-androsterone. 17-ketogenic steroids are also increased, and this cannot be explained at present. There is no impairment of hepatic function. The androgenic effect of Mesterolone is good. The absence of inhibition of gonadotrophin-secretion by Mesterolone could be explained by the fact, that the ring A in the steroid molecule is saturated. This kind of steroid cannot be aromatized to oestrogens, which have the greatest inhibiting effect on the gonadotrophin-function of the hypophysis.

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