“Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis” induced by massive doses of synthetic estrogen

Summary

We have noticed that functional disorders of the liver characterized by hepatomegaly and an increase in serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase develop in patients with prostatic cancer who are placed under longterm therapy with massive doses of estrogen after castration. We performed laparoscopy in six cases of prostatic cancer with hepatomegaly so that we could study the morphology of the liver. Our findings were as follows. In five, the histological features of the liver biopsies were very similar to those seen in alcoholic hepatitis. In spite of this fact, two of the five had no history of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, in one other case, liver damage resembling alcoholic hepatitis developed during abstinence. The findings in these three cases suggested that long-term, massive doses of synthetic estrogen may lead to liver injury similar to alcoholic hepatitis in nonalcoholics. The ultrastructural findings of the liver cells were also suggestive of the adverse effect of treatment. All cases were negative for hepatitis B surface antigen. Recent reports have demonstrated some nonalcoholics with histological features of the liver indicative of alcoholic hepatitis. This particular condition was termed “nonalcoholic steatohepatitis” by Ludwig et al. It is quite likely that synthetic estrogen is also responsible for “nonalcoholic steatohepatitis” when it is used in massive doses.