The group studied 36 patients with AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. The remainder were split into a double-blind trial, half receiving the hormone and the other half receiving a placebo. Of the six study patients who received the highest dose of chorionic gonadotropin, five demonstrated complete tumor regression. Furthermore, by examining lesions through a microscope, the researchers confirmed that cells in the KS tumors died after the administration of chorionic gonadotropin. Gill said that the hormone could be used in patients almost immediately.
Researchers remain unsure about why the hormone preparation causes tumor cells to die.
We believe that a fragment of the original hormone could be attacking the tumors, or that an entirely different molecule could be getting co-purified along with the gonadatropin. About a year ago, the Maryland researchers, including AIDS virus co-discoverer Robert Gallo, found that KS cells failed to grow in pregnant mice, even when the mice had no immune systems. Previous treatments for advanced KS skin lesions involved often toxic chemotherapy. Chorionic gonadatropin is a hormone produced by the fetal portion of the placenta during pregnancy. The hormone causes placenta cells to produce progesterone, which in turn maintains the wall of the uterus as a fetus develops.