Urinary androgen and 17-hydroxylated corticosteroid metabolites and their relation to recurrence rates in early breast cancer.

The amounts of urinary androsterone and etiocholanolone are highly correlated with recurrence rates in patients with early breast cancer after treatment by mastectomy. A more efficient means of predicting the clinical course of the disease is obtained by using a ratio of these compounds to the amounts of individual 17-hydroxycorticosteroids in the urine. For instance, the ratio of androsterone to alpha-cortolone is particularly effective in identifying women with a high rate of recurrence, and this is largely independent of pathological stage and tumor grade.