Active uptake of testosterone by androgen receptors of hepatocellular carcinoma in humans.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is more prevalent in males than it is in females, which has often been explained by the fact that alcoholism and chronic hepatitis B virus infection are more prevalent among males. The current studies, using biochemical and autoradiographic methods, verified that HCC contains higher concentrations of androgen receptors than the surrounding liver parenchyma and that extrinsically given testosterone are actively taken up by such tumors. These results may suggest that HCC is an androgen-dependent tumor and that, therefore, this tumor is more prevalent in males than it is in females.