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Oestrogen in the Treatment of Prostatic Carcinoma
Author(s) -
LANGEVELD J. W.,
LYCKLAMA A. A. B.,
NIJEHOLT A.,
JONAS U.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
british journal of urology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 0007-1331
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-410x.1989.tb05128.x
Subject(s) - antiandrogens , medicine , testosterone (patch) , side effect (computer science) , dose , placebo , carcinoma , diethylstilbestrol , urology , prostatic acid phosphatase , prostate , endocrinology , hormone , cancer , antiandrogen , alternative medicine , pathology , computer science , programming language
Summary— The treatment of prostatic carcinoma with diethylstilboestrol (DES) and ethinyloestradiol (Lynoral) has become less popular since the introduction of new forms of treatment such as antiandrogens, estramustine phosphate and LHRH analogues. One of the reasons for this decline in popularity is the risk of cardiovascular side effects during treatment with oestrogens. In the literature, different dosages of DES and ethinyloestradiol are recommended and different rates of cardiovascular side effects are reported. In a prospective study, 18 patients were treated with ethinyloestradiol 0.05 mg/day. In most cases this lowered the plasma testosterone permanently below castrate level during therapy. Also, because the acid phosphatase returned to normal in almost all patients, this treatment seemed adequate. In 4 patients the treatment was stopped because of side effects, in 3 of these because of cardiovascular complications. The cardiovascular side effect at this dose are considerable (29%) but comparable rates are reported in some studies following placebo treatment of patients with prostatic carcinoma.