Abstract
Investigations on the relationship of the pineal gland to neoplastic disease have a long history. The first possible association between the pineal gland and neoplasms was made in 1929 by Georgiou who described inhibition of carcinoma cells growth in pinealectomized mice. In contrast to that early observation, many subsequent studies showed an enhancement of tumor growth following the removal of the pineal gland. Numerous recent studies have reported an effect of the pineal gland in the induction or the growth of experimentally-induced malignant tumors, though the results are often contradictory. There are also some recent investigations on the relation of melatonin to neoplastic growth in humans.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aubert, C., Prade, M., and Bohuon, C., 1970, Effet de la pinealectomie sur les tumeurs melaniques du hamster dore induites par l’administration (per os) d’une seule dose de 9–10 dimethyl-l-2-benzanterracene. C.R. Acad. Sci. (Paris), 271:2465.
Barone, R.M., and Das Gupta, T.K., 1970, Role of pinealectomy on Walker 256 carcinoma in rats. J. Surg. Oncol., 2:313.
Barone, R.M., Abe, R., and Das Gupta, T.K., 1972, Pineal ablation in methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma. Surg. Forum, 23:115.
Bartsch, H., and Bartsch, C., 1981, Effect of melatonin on experimental tumors under different photoperiods and times of administration. J. Neural Transm., 52:269.
Bartsch, C., Bartsch, H., Fluchter, S.H., Attanasio, A., and Gupta, D., 1985, Evidence for a modulation of melatonin secretion in men with benign and malignant tumors of the prostate: relationship with pituitary hormones, J. Pineal Res., 2:121.
Bartsch, C., Bartsch, H., Fluchter, S.H., Harzmann, R., Attanasio, A., Bichler, K.H., and Gupta, D., 1983, Circadian rhythms in serum melatonin, prolactin and growth hormone in patients with benign and malignant tumours of the prostate and non-tumour controls. Neuroendocrinol Lett., 5:377.
Bartsch, C., Bartsch, H., Jain, A.K., Laumas, K.R., and Wetterberg, L., 1981, Urinary melatonin levels in human breast cancer patients. J. Neural Transm., 52:281.
Billiteri, A., and Bindoni, M., 1969, Accrescimento e moltiplicazione cellulare del tumore di Erlich nel topo, dopop asportatione della thiandola pineal. Boll. Soc. Ital. Biol. Sper., 45:1647.
Blask, D.E., 1984, The pineal: an oncostatic gland? in: “The Pineal Gland”, R.J. Reiter, ed., Raven Press, New York.
Blask, D.E., and Hill, S.M., 1986, Effects of melatonin on cancer: studies on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in culture. J. Neural Transm., Suppl. 21:433.
Blask, D.E., Hill, S.M., and Pelletier D.B., 1988, Oncostatic signaling by the pineal gland and melatonin in the control of breast cancer, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
Bostelmann, W., Locke, H., Ernst, B., and Tesmann, D., 1971, Der einfluss einer Melatonin behandlung auf des Wachstum des Walker carcinosarcoma der Ratte. Z. Allg. Path., 114:289.
Buswell, R.S., 1975, The pineal gland and neoplasia. Lancet, 1:34.
Buzzell, G.R., Amerongen, H.M., Toma, J.G., 1988, Melatonin and the growth of the Dunning R 3327 rat prostatic adenocarcinoma, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
Das Gupta, T.K., 1968, Influence of pineal gland on the growth and spread of malignant tumors. Surg. Forum, 19:83.
Das Gupta, T.K., and Terz, J. 1967, Influence of pineal gland on the growth and spread of melanoma in the hamster. Cancer Res., 27:1306.
Dogliotti, L., Torta, M., Buniva, T., Terzolo, M., and Fagginolo, R., 1988, Melatonin relationship to human tumors, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds.. Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
El-Domeri, A.A.H., and Das Gupta, T.K., 1973, Reversal by melatonin of the effect of pinealectomy on tumor growth. Cancer Res., 33:2830.
El-Domeri, A.A.H., and Das Gupta, T.K., 1976, The influence of pineal ablation and administration of melatonin on growth and of hamster melanoma. J. Surg. Oncol., 8:197.
Fraschini, F., Esposti, D., Lissoni, P., Viviani, S., Esposti, G., Lucini, V., Ripamonti, L., and Scaglione, F., 1988, The pineal function in cancer patients, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London: Tubing en.
Georgiou, E., 1929, Uber die Natur und Pathogenese der Krebstumoren. Z.Krebsforsch., 28:562.
Ghosh, B.C., El-Domeri, A.A.H., and Das Gupta T.K., 1973, Effect of melatonin on hamster melanoma. Surg. Forum, 24:121.
Karasek, M., Kunert-Radek, J., Stepien, H., and Pawlikowski, M., 1988, Melatonin inhibits the proliferation of estrogen-induced rat pituitary tumor-cells in vitro. Neuroendocrinol Lett., 10:135.
Khoory, R., and Stemme, D., 1988, Plasma melatonin levels in patients suffering from colorectal carcinoma. J. Pineal Res.. 5:251.
Lacassague, A., Chamorro, A., Hurst, L., and Ba Giao, N., 1969, Effet de l’epiphysectomie sur l’hepatocancerogenese chemique chez le rat. C.R. Acad. Sci. (Paris), 269:1043.
Lapin, V., 1974, Influence of simultaneous pinealectomy and thymectomy on the growth and formation of metastases of the Yoshida sarcoma in rats. Exp. Pathol., 9:108.
Lapin, V., and Ebels, I., 1976, Effects of some low molecular weight sheep pineal fractions and melatonin on different tumors in rats and mice. Oncology, 33:110.
Lapin, V., and Frowein, A., 1981, Effects of growing tumors on pineal melatonin levels in male rats. J. Neural Transm., 52:123.
Leadem, C.A., and Burns, D.M., 1987, Pineal-induced inhibition of prolactinoma growth in F344 rats: effects of blinding and melatonin treatment. Endocrine Society 69th Annual Meeting Abstracts, No. 344.
Leadem, C.A., and Burns, D.M., 1988, The inhibitory effects of light deprivation and the pineal gland on prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors in Fisher 344 rats, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
Leone, A.M., Silman, R.E., Hill, B.T., Whelan, R.D.H., and Shellard, S.A., 1988, Growth inhibitory effects of melatonin and its metabolites against ovarian tumour cell lines in vitro, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
Lissoni, P., Bastone, A., Sala, R., Mauri, R., Rovelli, R., Viviani, S., Bajetta, E., Esposti, D., Esposti, G., Di Bella, L., and Fraschini, F., 1987, The clinical significance of melatonin serum determination in oncological patients and its correlation with GH and PRL blood levels. Eur. J. Cancer Clin. Oncol., 23:949.
Lissoni, P., Tancini, G., Barni, S., Crispino, S., Paolorossi, F., Rovelli, F., Cattaneo, G., and Fraschini, F., 1988, Melatonin increase as predictor for tumor objective response to chemotherapy in advanced cancer patients. Tumori, 74:339.
Lissoni, P., Viviani, S., Bajetta, E., Buzzoni, R., Barreca, A., Mauri, R., Resentini, M., Morabito, F., Esposti, D., Esposti, G., and Fraschini F., 1986, A clinical study of the pineal gland activity in oncological patients. Cancer, 57:837.
Narita, T., 1988, Effect of melatonin on B16 melanoma growth, in: The Pineal Gland and Cancer, D. Gupta, A. Attanasio, and R.J. Reiter, eds., Brain Res. Promotion, London:Tubingen.
Pawlikowski, M.. and Karasek, M.. 1990, The pineal gland and experimentally-induced tumors, in: Advances in Pineal Research, Vol. 4, R.J. Reiter and A. Lukaszyk, eds., John Libbey, London.
Pico, J.L., Mathe, G., Young, I.M., Leone, R.M., Hooper, J., and Silman, R.E., 1979, Role of hormones in etiology of human breast cancer. Pineal indole hormones and cancer. Cancer Treat. Rep., 63:1204.
Rodin, A.E., 1963, The growth and spread of Walker 256 carcinoma in pinealectomized rats. Cancer Res., 23:1545–1550.
Schloot, W., Dubbek, R., and Birau, N., 1981, Genetics of melatonin. Adv. Biosci., 29:269.
Stanberry, L.R., Das Gupta, T.K., and Beattie, C.W., 1983, Photoperiod control of melanoma growth in hamsters: influence of pinealectomy and melatonin. Endocrinology, 113:469.
Tamarkin, L., Danforth, D., Lichter, A., De Moss, E., Cohen, M., Chabner, B., and Lippman, M., 1982, Decreased nocturnal plasma melatonin peak in patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Science, 216:1003.
Tapp, E., Skinner, R.G., and Phillips, V., 1980, Radioimmunoassay of melatonin. J. Neural Transm., 48:137.
Touitou, Y., Fevre-Montange, M., Proust, J., Klinger, E., and Nakache, J.P., 1985, Age and sex-associated modifications of plasma melatonin concentrations in man. Relationship to pathology, malignant or not, and autopsy findings. Acta Endocrinol., 108:135.
Werner, S., Brismar, K., Wetterberg, L., and Eneroth, P., 1981, Circadian rhythms of melatonin, prolactin, growth hormone and cortisol in patients with pituitary adenomas, empty sella syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome due to adrenal tumours, Adv. Biosci., 29:357.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Karasek, M., Fraschini, F. (1991). Is there a Role for the Pineal Gland in Neoplastic Growth?. In: Fraschini, F., Reiter, R.J. (eds) Role of Melatonin and Pineal Peptides in Neuroimmunomodulation. NATO ASI Series, vol 204. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3756-4_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3756-4_28
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6673-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3756-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive