Abstract
A summary of the results obtained by the Italian Breast Cancer Group in 122 patients with advanced breast cancer randomized over four different treatments: testosterone propionate, given i.m. 3 times a week at the dose of 100 mg per injection; cyclophosphamide, administered i.m. 25 times a month at the dose of 100 mg/day; testosterone + cyclophosphamide i.m. at the above doses; HMNT (4-hydroxy-17 methyl-19-nortestosterone) given i.m. 3 times a week at the dose of 100 mg/day. The criteria for patient selection and methods of evaluation were, with some modifications, these used by the American Breast Cancer Group. Objective improvements were observed in 26.9% of patients treated with testosterone propionate, in 15.6% of patients treated with cyclophosphamide, in 23.5% of those treated with testosterone + cyclophosphamide and in 20% of patients treated with HMNT. The most interesting result, worth of further evaluation, is that observed with the combined testosterone + cyclophosphamide therapy, which yielded the highest number of objective improvements in patients in menopause for less than one year.
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