ABSTRACT
Hepatotoxicity is a recognized adverse effect of treatment with several hormonal agents and
also with their corresponding antagonists. In this chapter, we first discuss the liver toxicity
associated with oral contraceptive steroids (OCS) (Table 1) and anabolic androgenic steroids
(AAS). Liver disorders with the OCS and AAS encompass a range of histologic appearances
including acute hepatitis, cholestasis, hepatic vascular toxicity and liver tumors, both benign
and malignant. Although there are broad similarities between the OCS and AAS with regard to
the liver disorders they can induce, there are important differences between the groups.
For example, cholestasis is a feature common to both groups, but hepatic and portal vein
thrombosis have only been associated with OCS. Conversely, peliosis hepatis, and hepatocel-
lular carcinoma (HCC) have stronger associations with AAS than with OCS.
