Oophorectomy for advanced carcinoma of the breast

From 1960 to 1972, 639 patients have undergone bilateral oophorectomy for carcinoma of the breast. The over-all regression rate was 29.5 per cent; regressions lasted on an average of 16 months, and 19 per cent of the patients who responded to surgical castration survived five years or longer. The best results were achieved when the patients were premenopausal and over 35 years of age or not more than one year menopausal, if the free interval was longer than two years or if the patient had primary advanced carcinoma and when the lesions were localized to the soft tissues, bones, lung and pleura. Attempts to demonstrate the hormone-dependence of the tumor by correlating the response rate to preoperative urinary steroid determination or by cytologic examination of the vaginal smear were inconclusive.