Stromal Hyperplasia in Women with Mammary Cancer

The frequency and extent of stromal hyperplasia were studied in 103 menopausal women with mammary cancer submitted to oophorectomy. Results were compared to those obtained in a control group of 57 menopausal women who had undergone oophorectomy for non-cancer disease. Hyperplasia of the ovarian cortical stroma was classified as scanty, moderate, and significant. The comparative evaluation of the two groups did not show appreciable differences. Testosterone treatment at the conventional therapeutical doses was not found to induce significant variations at the level of the ovarian stroma. In order to evidence a possible relation between hyperplasia of the ovarian cortical stroma and estrogenic function of the ovary, the dosage of urinary phenolsteroids and the colpo-cytologic findings in mammary cancer women were considered. No quantitative relation was observed between hyperplasia and estrogenic function of the ovary. Hyperplasia of the ovarian cortical stroma is not considered to be a particular functional aspect of the ovary and, on the basis of the results obtained, does not seem to be more frequent in mammary cancer women as compared to control groups.