Influence of Host Sex on the Growth of Human Melanoma
Michael J. Walker, Prabir Kumar Chaudhuri, Tapas K. Das Gupta, Craig W. Beattie · Experimental Biology and Medicine · 1980
The growth of estrogen receptor-positive and -negative human melanoma cells was compared in male and female athymic mice. The growth of all receptor-negative and receptor-positive tumors carried in male mice was significantly greater than receptor-positive tumors in female mice. The receptor-positive tumor growth rate in male mice was inhibited by exogenous estradiol while receptor-negative tumors were not. The results suggest that the favorable influence of sex on the natural history of human melanoma may be restricted to hormonally responsive lesions.