Inhibitory effects of Estracyt on R-3327 rat prostatic carcinoma

Estracyt (estramustine phosphate) injected intraperitoneally, 100 mg, per Kg. three days a week for four weeks, retarded growth of the R-3327 tumor in intact rats and in orchiectomized rats given androgen. The growth inhibition was accomplished by reduction of tumor deoxyribonucleic acid concentration and of the activities of acid phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and other hydrolases. Histologic examination revealed cellular necrosis particularly prominent in the orchiectomized, androgen-treated rats. Estracyt did not affect the uptake of 65-Zn in the tumors but markedly reduced the high uptake in the dorsolateral prostate. There was no accumulation of 3H or 14C in the tumors after intravenous administration of 3H, 14C-labeled Estracyt, but the isotope concentrations decreased much in the same way as they decreased in the dorsolateral prostate. The isotopes were retained in the ventral prostate, where their concentrations were approximately twenty times higher than those in the muscle four hours after injection. The results demonstrate the value of the R-3327 tumor in the evaluation of drugs of potential clinical use for the treatment of prostatic cancer. The results also show that Estracyt has an antitumor effect which is not dependent on the antigonadotropic action of the drug.