Androgen receptors in normal and neoplastic laryngeal tissue.

Androgen cytoplasmic (ARc) and nuclear (ARn) receptors were analyzed in normal and cancerous laryngeal tissue obtained from male and female patients. In men, neither ARc nor ARn were detectable in most of the normal larynx tissue specimens, while either ARc, ARn, or both were present in eight of 16 laryngeal carcinomas. In women, all three normal and two of four malignant laryngeal tissue specimens possessed ARc without ARn. The presence of androgen receptors in some laryngeal carcinomas shows that these tumors are possibly hormone sensitive, and hormonal therapy should be considered in treating these tumors.