Advanced ovarian carcinoma: response to antiestrogen therapy

Three patients with Stage III serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary were successfully treated with estrogen antagonist therapy after failure of cytotoxic chemotherapy. All had histologic confirmation of progressive or persistent disease. High titers of estrogen receptor protein (ERP) and progesterone receptor protein (PRP) were detected in one patient prior to tamoxifen therapy. One patient had a complete remission lasting for 18 months. The other patients had partial responses and were able to return to normal activities. Simultaneous or prior sequential cytotoxic chemotherapy did not negate the effectiveness of the estrogen antagonists.