The importance of gestagen, tamoxifen and steroid receptors in the therapy of endometrial cancer. Report of an experiment.
Six human endometrial cancers in different clinical stages were xenotransplanted into thymusaplastic nude mice. Estrogen and progesterone receptors in the tumor tissue were determined in each case. Two carcinomas with both estrogen and progesterone receptors showed a better clinical course and grew more slowly in nude mice than the four carcinomas with no receptors at all. Treatment with the antiestrogen Tamoxifen in the carcinoma with positive estrogen receptors showed a significant growth retardation compared with the control group. Estrogen treatment gave accelerated growth, whereas gestagen treatment showed no significant effect. The progesterone receptor content of the receptor-positive tumor tissue might have been too small. None of the four receptor-negative carcinomas showed any influence of tumor growth during endocrine therapy. The results demonstrate the importance of receptor determination as a prognostic sign and, further, allow the endocrine therapy of endometrial carcinomas to be complemented with Tamoxifen in estrogen-receptor-positive tumor tissue.
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D004958:Estradiol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005866:Gestonorone Caproate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008524:Medrogestone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008875:Middle Aged; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011955:Receptors, Drug; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*
D011955:Receptors, Drug; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D008524:Medrogestone; D013629:Tamoxifen; D004958:Estradiol; D005866:Gestonorone Caproate