[Experimental study of an antitumor preparation proloteston]

The results of an experimental evaluation of a prolonged action antitumor drug--prolotestone are presented. The drug is a mixture of steroids of the androstane series, 2 alpha-methylhydrotestosterone and its three esters. The preparation has been approved for medication. Prolotestone treatment in the dose of 14 mg once in two weeks produced a high antiblastogenic effect in rats with hormone-dependent cancer of the mammary gland induced by dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. It was shown in tests involving the use of a number of transplantable tumors that prolotestone potentiates the antitumor effect of sarcolysin and mitigates its untoward side-effects. The preparation is practically non-toxic, possesses a high anabolic index, has a beneficial effect on hepatic function and lowers the glucocorticoid function of the adrenals. It is thought that application of the drug should not be limited to the treatment of breast cancer.