[Estracyt therapy in advanced prostate cancer: current status and personal results]

In addition to surveying biochemistry, clinical findings and side effects of Estramustin Phosphate therapy, this paper gives an account of our own results with primary and secondary Estramustin Phosphate therapy. A total number of 118 patients have been examined in three different studies since 1970. Apart from conventional clinical control examinations, an additional accurate parameter applied to control therapy response was cytological analysis of therapy induced regression signs in primary tumor. Thus objective therapy response was established for 87% resp. 93% of the patients on primary Estramustin Phosphate therapy, and for 35% resp. 45% of those on secondary therapy. Patients with cytologically poor therapy response 3 months after beginning of therapy entered significantly earlier into clinical progression than patients with favorable therapy response, with clinical progression being additionally and essentially influenced by the pretherapeutical metastatic stage. Gastro-intestinal side-effects were prevalent in 79% of cases on intravenous administration of the drug, while on oral administration they were found to be three times less.