Ethanol also increased plasma prolactin levels and pituitary weight both in female rats with normal menstrual cycles and in rats whose ovaries had been removed (i.e., ovariectomized rats) and promoted estradiol-induced development of prolactin-producing benign tumors (i.e., prolactinomas) in the pituitary (De et al. 1995). Here, PRL is linked to benign neoplasm.