Treatment of Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer with Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analogues

Abstract

Repeated administration of long-acting analogues of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone suppresses serum concentrations of the pituitary gonadotropins and of gonadal hormones (Nillius et al. 1978). This effect has implications for the management of sex hormone dependant diseases and these compounds have been applied to endocrine, gynaecological and malignant disorders (Waxmann 1984). There have been recent reports of the activity of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in breast cancer in both pre- and post-menopausal women. In pre-menopausal women initial descriptions of “responses” in two of four women (Klijn and de Jong 1982), have been confirmed, with 14 of 45 women responding to analogue treatment (Williams et al. 1986).