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Dienogest, a novel synthetic steroid, overcomes hormone‐dependent cancer in a different manner than progestins
Author(s) -
Katsuki Yukio,
Shibutani Yasunori,
Aoki Daisuke,
Nozawa Shiro
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19970101)79:1<169::aid-cncr24>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - dienogest , medroxyprogesterone acetate , medicine , endocrinology , estrogen , hormone , endometriosis , receptor , estrogen receptor , cancer , breast cancer
BACKGROUND Dienogest is a synthetic progestational steroid that is used for contraception. It is being studied for the treatment of endometriosis, but its anticancer activity remains unknown. The authors investigated the anticancer effect of dienogest on hormone‐dependent cancers. METHODS The authors used two cell lines derived from human endometrial carcinoma (HEC‐88nu cells expressing estrogen receptors [ER] but not progesterone receptors [PR] and Ishikawa cells expressing both ER and PR) and a cell line derived from human breast carcinoma (MCF‐7 cells expressing both ER and PR). The authors examined the in vivo antitumor activity and the antiuterotropic activity of dienogest in mice and compared it with the activity of several progestins. RESULTS At oral doses of 0.01‐1 mg/kg/day, dienogest significantly suppressed the 17β‐estradiol benzoate (E 2 )‐dependent tumor growth of HEC‐88nu cells, which were unresponsive to known progestins such as medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA, 100 mg/kg/day, administered orally) and norethisterone (NES, 100 mg/kg/day, administered orally). The suppressive effect of dienogest on tumor growth was not diminished in the presence of excess MPA. Dienogest also suppressed the E 2 ‐dependent tumor growth of both Ishikawa and MCF‐7 cells, both of which responded to MPA. However, the minimum effective dose of dienogest (0.01‐1 mg/kg/day) was much lower than that of MPA (100 mg/kg/day). In contrast, dienogest did not suppress the E 2 ‐induced increase in uterine weight, whereas MPA and NES suppressed it significantly. CONCLUSIONS Dienogest showed potent anticancer activity against hormone‐dependent cancers at doses at which progestins show no activity. Cancer 1997; 79:169‐76. © 1997 American Cancer Society.