The purpose of this paper is to present the results in 20 consecutive cases of advanced mammary cancer in which testosterone propionate was used. The minimum observation period is one year.
Ulrich1 (1939) was the first to describe testosterone therapy in advanced mammary cancer. Although the doses were too small to produce chemical castration, his 2 cases showed a favorable response. Loeser,2 in the same year, reported 2 patients, who had recurrent mammary cancer, treated with testosterone for menorrhagia. They lived for eighteen months without further recurrence. It was not stated whether or not recurrence was present at the beginning of testosterone therapy. Prudente3 used testosterone prophylactically following mastectomy in doses adequate to produce ovarian suppression.
So far as we can determine, 92 cases of advanced mammary cancer treated with testosterone have been recorded in the literature; in addition, Prudente3 has studied the prophylactic effect in