UC-12. Study of Hormone Conversion During Human Pregnancy Using
Carbon-14
This study was conducted by the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital in the mid- to late 1950s. The
purpose of the study was to determine whether acetate and cholesterol are precursors of estrone in
pregnant women. The subject was a 36-year-old white woman who underwent a thyroidectomy prior
to pregnancy. An intramuscular injection of 35.09 microcuries of testosterone-4-C-14 was
administered during the 7th week of pregnancy and an abortion was performed 4 days after the
injection. About 55 percent of the radioactivity derived from the labeled testosterone was eliminated
from the body by way of the kidney.
The results of this experiment demonstrated the conversion of testosterone to estrone during the
course of human pregnancy. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission provided funding to the Argonne
Cancer Research Hospital through the University of Chicago, its operating contractor. (Included in
The DOE Roadmap of February 1995)
References
Ejarque, P., E.J. Plotz, and M.E. Davis. Conversion of Testosterone-4-C-14 into Esterone-C-14
During Human Pregnancy. Semiannual Reports to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Vol. 2, Part
100, 1956 and Parts 7 10, 1957 to 1958. Chicago: Argonne Cancer Research Hospital, pp. 61 65.
The University of Chicago, Office of Legal Counsel, Semiannual Reports of the Argonne Cancer
Research Hospital.
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Human Radiation Experiments Associated with the U.S. Department
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involving Human Subjects