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Cytologic evidence of extensive keratotic reaction in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero.

Squamous mucous membranes and squamous metaplastic epithelium sometimes undergo hypermaturation with the production of a keratin layer. Anucleated keratotic squamous plaques in smears are generally recognized as cytologic evidence of this altered maturation. This keratotic reaction was quantified in cytologic smears from 191 women exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES). Keratotic reaction was observed in the vaginal smear in 40% of the cases, in the cervical smear in 26% and in the endocervical smear in 19%; overall, a keratotic reaction was observed in at least one specimen from 48% of the women. These frequencies are higher than those reported in other studies. The observed frequency was age related. The significance of the hyperkeratosis, including its possible relationship to a lower dysplasia rate among DES-exposed women, is unclear. No conclusions can be drawn until more is known about behavioral factors in DES-exposed women.

Adolescent↗

Infertility in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero.

To evaluate the reproductive consequences of prenatal diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure, 33 infertile couples were studied in whom the female had been exposed to DES in utero. Infertility was attributed to uterotubal junction obstruction in 3 couples, anovulation in 7, endometriosis in 11, cervical obstruction in 2, adnexal adhesions in 2, oligospermia in 1 and luteal insufficiency in 3; in 4 couples no cause of infertility could be identified. No unique intraabdominal abnormalities attributable to DES exposure were observed. Four tubal pregnancies occurred in women with grossly normal oviducts. Nine of 11 women who had previously undergone surgical manipulation of the cervix (cryosurgery, cautery or conization) developed cervical stenosis, and 8 of them were found to have endometriosis. Despite our not having an appropriate referral infertility population for comparison, these findings are consistent with the following hypotheses regarding women prenatally exposed to DES: (1) surgical manipulation of the cervix more frequently leads to cervical stenosis and ultimately pelvic endometriosis, (2) tubal pregnancies may occur by a mechanism unrelated to salpingitis, and (3) the spectrum of problems causing infertility is similar to that in the non-DES-exposed population.

Adult↗

Ultrastructural and morphometric study of diethylstilbestrol-associated lesions diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia III.

Investigations were carried out to characterize diethylstilbestrol (DES)-associated squamous lesions and to assess their biological significance. Five DES-associated cervical lesions displayed architectural features which were diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) III, such as full-thickness replacement by atypical squamous cells with vertical orientation and absence of normal polarity. Electron microscopic examination revealed only one of the five to be consistent with the generally recognized ultrastructural picture of non-DES CIN III. In the remaining four lesions, the moderate-to-large numbers of tonofibrils and well-developed desmosomes distinguished them from the true CIN III lesions. Morphometric studies indicate the five DES-associated lesions in this study as a group to be significantly different from normal squamous epithelium, from maturing metaplasia, and from non-DES-related CIN III in the parameters of differentiation studied. Their intermediary position between maturing metaplasia and non-DES CIN III suggests that they are more differentiated than CIN III and less differentiated than maturing metaplasia. Nuclear area measurements indicate the increased nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio observed in the DES-associated CIN III lesions of this study is due to a decrease in cytoplasmic volume, as opposed to an increased nuclear size.

Cell Nucleus↗

Diethylstilbestrol effects on serum enzymes and isozymes in muscular dystrophy.

Diethyistibestrol was administered orally to 11 boys with Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD). Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, characteristically high in DMD, and presumably of muscle origin, were reduced significantly (P LESS THAN .05). On ther other hand, the activity of alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme not of muscle origin, increased. These enzyme changes were reversible when diethyistibestrol was discontinued. Despite appreciable alterations in totoal serum enzyme activity, no important change was found in the isozyme patterns. Piperazine estrone sulfate was administered to another patient with DMD. The effects of this physiologic hormone were, in part, similar to those of diethyistibestrol. Experimentally, diethylstilbestrol reduced the efflux of CPK and LDH from mouse skeletal muscle. This may be the manner by which diethylstilbesterol reduced the serum enzyme levels in DMD, but this has not been proved directly. These studies are the first step in an effort to identify various agents that in combinations may normalize serum enzyme levels.

Adolescent↗

Cancer risk in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero.

CONTEXT: The association between in utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) and clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the vagina and cervix is well known, yet there has been no systematic study of DES-exposed daughters to determine whether they have an increased risk of other cancers. As many as 3 million women in the United States may have been exposed to DES in utero. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether women exposed to DES in utero have a higher risk of cancer after an average of 16 years of follow-up. DESIGN: A cohort study with mailed questionnaires and medical record review of reported cancer outcomes. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 4536 DES-exposed daughters (of whom 81% responded) and 1544 unexposed daughters (of whom 79% responded) who were first identified in the mid-1970s. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cancer incidence in DES-exposed daughters compared with population-based rates and compared with cancer incidence in unexposed daughters. RESULTS: To date, DES-exposed daughters have not experienced an increased risk for all cancers (rate ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-1.56) or for individual cancer sites, except for CCA. Three cases of vaginal CCA occurred among the exposed daughters, resulting in a standardized incidence ratio of 40.7 (95% CI, 13.1-126.2) in comparison with population-based incidence rates. The rate ratio for breast cancer was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.56-2.49); adjustment for known risk factors did not alter this result. CONCLUSIONS: Thus far, DES-exposed daughters show no increased cancer risk, except for CCA. Nevertheless, because exposed daughters included in our study were, on average, only 38 years old at last follow-up, continued surveillance is warranted to determine whether any increases in cancer risk occur during the menopausal years.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗

Influence of diethylstilbestrol, Leuprolelin (a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analog), Finasteride (a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor), and castration on the lobar subdivisions of the rat prostate.

The effects of various means of interfering with androgen action on rat coagulating gland, ventral prostate, lateral type 1 prostate, lateral type 2 prostate, and dorsal prostate were examined morphologically and quantitatively by assessing DNA content, wet weight, protein content, and zinc concentrations. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 2 weeks of interfering with androgen action by treatment with Leuprolelin (a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analog), Finasteride (a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor), or diethylstilbestrol (DES), or by physical castration. For all prostatic lobes, inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase elicited the smallest reduction in prostatic wet weight, DNA and protein contents, and zinc concentration. The most profound reductions in all parameters were elicited by castration. Treatments with DES and Leuprolelin gave intermediate effects with DES being the more effective in reducing all parameters in all prostatic lobes. Morphological changes elicited by all forms of androgen blockade were reduction of epithelial height, relative increase of connective tissue, reduction in ductal diameter, length, and number. The order of effectiveness of the various treatments on morphological features was as described above. While all forms of androgen blockade elicited similar effects throughout the prostate, differences in response to all forms of interference with androgen action were observed in different lobes of the prostate with regard to wet weight, DNA and protein contents, and zinc concentration as well as morphological effects. Regressive changes at the morphological level were particularly striking in the coagulating gland and ventral prostate, and indistinct in the lateral type 2 prostate. Prostatic zinc concentration in both normal and androgen-deprived rats was the highest in the lateral type 2 prostate and was reduced by interfering with androgen action to the greatest extent in the dorsolateral prostate (lateral type 1 and type 2, and dorsal prostate). The distribution of zinc correlated with the expression of metallothionein, which was detected by immunocytochemistry only in the lateral type 2 prostate of both normal and androgen deprived rats. Intraprostatic heterogeneity of zinc and metallothionein expression emphasizes interlobar differences in biological function within the rat prostate. The mechanism of development of regional heterogeneity within the prostate may shed light on the pathogenesis of prostatic proliferative diseases (prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic cancer) that initially owe their development to focal changes within large cell populations.

5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors↗

Molecular genetic analysis of clear cell adenocarcinomas of the vagina and cervix associated and unassociated with diethylstilbestrol exposure in utero.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) is associated with the subsequent development of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the lower reproductive tract in young women, and data concerning the molecular genetic alterations involved in the etiology of this tumor type have not previously been reported. Such knowledge would be of potential value by providing insight into the molecular mechanisms of hormonal carcinogenesis in general, as well as by suggesting molecular markers for risk assessment in the estrogen-exposed population. METHODS: A total of 24 samples of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix, 16 associated with exposure in utero to DES and 8 with no history of DES exposure, were obtained as archival fixed and embedded tissue specimens. DNA was purified from these tissues and used to examine a number of biologically plausible molecular genetic endpoints for tumor specific alterations. RESULTS: No evidence was found for mutations in the K-ras or H-ras protooncogenes, the Wilms' tumor (WT1) tumor suppressor gene, or the estrogen receptor gene. Sporadic overexpression of the p53 tumor suppressor gene was detected in some tumor cell nuclei by immunohistochemistry, but in the absence of detectable p53 gene mutation. Genetic instability as manifested by somatic mutation of microsatellite repeats was widespread in these tumors, with evidence of microsatellite instability in all DES-associated tumors examined, and in 50% of those tumors not associated with DES exposure. CONCLUSIONS: These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the induction of genomic instability may be an important mechanism of DES-induced carcinogenesis.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗

Estrogen receptor (ER) and its messenger ribonucleic acid expression in the genital tract of female mice exposed neonatally to tamoxifen and diethylstilbestrol.

BACKGROUND: Tamoxifen (Tx) is known as an antiestrogen because of its competitive inhibition of estrogen binding to estrogen receptor (ER), and it is used as an estrogen antagonist in the human breast. However, Tx is known to have estrogen agonist activity in the human fetal reproductive tracts and vaginal epithelium and endometrium of postmenopausal women as has been known in the mouse uterus. Therefore, we examined estrogenic potency of Tx on the uterus and vagina in newborn mice and adult ovariectomized mice. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we studied changes in expression of ER protein and ER mRNA in the uterus and vagina of C57BL/Tw mice exposed neonatally to 100 micrograms Tx and 0.03-3 micrograms diethylstilbestrol (DES), and changes in expression of ER mRNA in the ovariectomized adult mice given injections of 100 micrograms Tx and 3 micrograms DES. RESULTS: Nuclei of the epithelial and stromal cells in the vagina and of the stromal cells in the uterus showed strong ER immunostaining on the day of birth (= day 0), whereas nuclei of the epithelial cells in the uterus exhibited the ER immunostaining by day 5. In uterine epithelial cells, however, ER was induced by DES, 17 beta-estradiol, testosterone or Tx 24 h after a single injection on day 0, but not by the injection of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, progesterone, or epidermal growth factor. ER in uterine epithelial cells was detected even 12 h after a single injection of 3 micrograms DES on day 0. ER mRNA expression of uterine and vaginal epithelial cells of newborn mice increased 4 h after a single injection of 3 micrograms DES. ER mRNA expression of uterine and vaginal stromal cells in neonatal mice increased 4 h after a single injection of 100 micrograms Tx. In uterine epithelial and stromal cells and vaginal epithelial cells of ovariectomized adult mice, ER mRNA expression increased 12 h after a single injection of 3 micrograms DES and 100 micrograms Tx. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that Tx acts as ER inducer in the uterus and vagina of neonatal and ovariectomized adult mice. However, responsiveness of reproductive tracts to Tx is different between newborn and adult mice.

Animals↗

Effect of neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol and tamoxifen on pelvis and femur in male mice.

BACKGROUND: Permanent abnormalities have been reported in reproductive and non-reproductive organs of mice and humans exposed perinatally to a synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES). Recent studies demonstrated that sex hormones affected the shape of the innominate bone in mice. Therefore, we analyzed the long-term effects of neonatal exposure of DES and tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen, in mouse bones. METHODS: Changes in the pelvis and femur were examined in 1- to 15-month-old C57BL/Tw male mice given 5 daily injections of 3 micrograms DES or of 100 micrograms tamoxifen beginning on the day of birth by measuring contents of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), and the numbers of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. RESULTS: The ash weight of pelvis and femur in neonatally DES- and tamoxifen-treated mice was lower than that in the controls at 2-15 months of age. Contents of Ca and P of pelvis and femur in neonatally tamoxifen-treated mice were lower than in the controls and neonatally DES-treated mice. In neonatally DES-treated mice at 6-12 months, Ca and P contents in the pelvis were lower than in controls, but not different in the femur. The number of osteoblasts per unit length of endocortical surface of the femur in 2- and 3-month-old DES- and tamoxifen-treated mice was lower than that in the controls. The osteoclast number in the femur in DES-treated mice at 2 to 12 months was not different from that in the controls; however, in tamoxifen-treated mice, the number was higher than in the controls. An epiphyseal line was clearly detected in the femur of 12- and 15-month-old DES- and tamoxifen-treated male mice, whereas the line in the controls disappeared after 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that in male mice, neonatal exposure to DES and tamoxifen induced permanent changes in the pelvis and the femur, and that tamoxifen had a greater effect on bone tissue than did DES.

Age Factors↗

17beta-estradiol, diethylstilbestrol, tamoxifen, toremifene and ICI 164,384 induce morphological transformation and aneuploidy in cultured Syrian hamster embryo cells.

To examine the ability of estrogens and anti-estrogens to induce cellular transformation and genetic effects, Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells were treated with estrogens, 17beta-estradiol (E2) or diethylstilbestrol (DES), or with anti-estrogens, tamoxifen (TAM), toremifene (TOR) or ICI 164,384. Treatment with each substance for 1-3 days suppressed cellular growth in a dose-dependent manner. Colony-forming efficiency (CFE) increased following treatment of cells with E2 or DES for 48 hr at 3 or 10 microM but decreased at 20 or 30 microM. In contrast, CFE was increased by treatment with TAM, TOR or ICI 164,348 over the concentration range examined (1-30 microM). Treatment with each chemical at 1-30 microM for 48 hr caused morphological transformation of SHE cells in a dose-related fashion. The highest frequency was exhibited in SHE cells treated with DES at 20 microM and was 2 times higher than that induced by treatment with benzo[alpha]pyrene (B[alpha]P) at 4 microM. Transformation frequencies induced by other substances (E2, TAM, TOR and ICI 164,348) did not exceed that induced by the B[alpha]P treatment. TOR showed a higher transforming ability over all concentrations examined when compared to the other anti-estrogens (TAM and ICI 164,348). No significant increases in the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations were observed in SHE cells that were treated with any of the chemicals. However, treatment of SHE cells with each chemical induced a dose-dependent increase of aneuploid cells in the near diploid range. Our results indicate that the ability of the estrogens and anti-estrogens to induce numerical chromosomal abnormality may be involved in their cell transformation activity and potential carcinogenicity.

Aneuploidy↗

Dose-response studies of the induction of hyperdiploidy and polyploidy by diethylstilbestrol and 17beta-estradiol in cultured human lymphocytes using multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and 17beta-estradiol (E2) are known inducers of aneuploidy and polyploidy in vivo and in vitro. Isolated human lymphocytes were treated with the stilbene estrogen DES (0.05-50 microM) and the steroid estrogen E2 (0.05-75 microM) in culture. Multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with DNA probes for the centromere and adjacent heterochromatin regions of chromosomes 1, 9, and 16 was used to detect hyperdiploidy, polyploidy, and chromosomal breakage affecting these chromosomes. Using this FISH technique, significant nonlinear increases in hyperdiploidy were observed with both compounds, whereas no induction of chromosomal breakage affecting the pericentric heterochromatin regions of chromosomes 1, 9, and 16 could be detected. DES induced a maximum of approximately 13% hyperdiploid cells at 30 microM, whereas E2 showed its highest induction at 75 microM with 7% hyperdiploid cells. To distinguish hyperdiploidy from polyploidy, a FISH labeling strategy to detect multiple chromosomes simultaneously was established. Using this approach, we could show that most of the cells showing multiple hybridization regions after treatment with both chemicals were most likely the result of polyploidy rather than true hyperdiploidy. These results indicate that the induction of hyperdiploidy/polyploidy with DES and E2 show sublinear dose-response relationships with likely threshold concentrations in human lymphocytes and that FISH with multiple probes targeting different chromosomes can be used to estimate hyperdiploidy and polyploidy frequencies.

Benzimidazoles↗

Diethylstilbestrol-induced immortalization of human endometrial cells: alterations in p53 and estrogen receptor.

Carcinogenesis is a process requiring multiple steps. Immortalization is one step in this process and may be rate limiting. To further our understanding of estrogen-induced carcinogenesis, we evaluated diethylstilbestrol (DES)-induced immortalization of human endometrial stromal cells. This was achieved by assessing at the restrictive temperature the colony-forming efficiency of cells that were conditionally immortalized with a temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T antigen. Treatment with DES for 1 wk did not increase the immortalization frequency; however, cultures that were treated for 20 wk had a twofold increase in immortalization frequency, and continued treatment for a total of 44 wk produced a threefold increase in immortalization frequency that was dose dependent. DES-treated restrictive temperature variants (RTVs) but not spontaneous RTVs lost the temperature-sensitive phenotype. DES-RTVs also had a shorter doubling time than spontaneous RTVs did. p53 expression was increased in DES-RTVs, and its localization within the cell was altered. Conversely, expression of the estrogen receptor was decreased in DES-immortalized cells. These changes in gene expression often occur in estrogen-related malignancies, and our results are consistent with a causal role for estrogens in these p53 and the estrogen receptor alterations. Immortalization of human cells may be analogous to initiation of rodent cells, and our results suggest that estrogen-induced alterations in p53 or other genes that regulate life span could contribute to estrogen-induced initiation.

Base Sequence↗

Potentiation of diethylstilbestrol-induced alterations in the female mouse reproductive tract by transforming growth factor-alpha transgene expression.

Neonatal estrogen exposure causes numerous abnormalities in the female reproductive tract, including carcinogenesis. One mechanism by which neonatal estrogen elicits teratogenic and carcinogenic effects is epigenetic and involves the modulation of a number of estrogen-regulated genes including epidermal growth factor (EGF). Because of the evidence that there is an integral relationship between the EGF family, estrogen action, and the regulation of the growth and differentiation of the reproductive tract, we used transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF alpha) transgenic mice to investigate the interaction of constitutive TGF alpha expression with the potent estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the induction of reproductive-tract alterations. Our study was designed to determine whether TGF alpha expression could modulate DES-induced carcinogenesis of the female mouse reproductive tract. The animals were homozygous TGF alpha transgenic female mice from the MT42 line and the parental CD-1 outbred mice. The presence of the TGF alpha transgene significantly increased the incidence of DES-induced vaginal adenosis, uterine endometrial hyperplasia, uterine polyps, hypospadia, benign ovarian cysts, and pituitary adenomas. However, constitutive TGF alpha expression did not promote reproductive-tract neoplasia. This study demonstrates that TGF alpha participates in the regulation of developmental and morphogenic events in the Müllerian duct and urogenital sinus, suggesting a role for TGF alpha in the pathogenesis of reproductive-tract diseases. Furthermore, we showed that although constitutive expression of the TGF alpha transgene did have an effect on the reproductive tract, TGF alpha overexpression alone could not substitute for DES as a reproductive-tract carcinogen or as a promoter of uterine neoplasia, indicating that DES-induced carcinogenesis requires events in addition to the overexpression of this single peptide growth factor.

Animals↗

Accelerated onset of uterine tumors in transgenic mice with aberrant expression of the estrogen receptor after neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol.

The role of estrogen and the estrogen receptor (ER) in the induction and promotion of tumors was investigated by using transgenic MT-mER mice, which overexpress the ER. It was hypothesized that because of this abnormal expression of the ER, the reproductive-tract tissues of the MT-mER mice may be more susceptible to tumors after neonatal exposure to the potent synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES). Normally non-estrogen responsive tissues that may have expressed ER as a result of the transgene were also studied for DES-induced tumors. Wild-type and MT-mER littermates were treated with 2 micrograms/pup/d DES 1-5 d after birth and then killed at 4, 8, 12, and 18 mo of age. The DES-treated MT-mER mice demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of uterine adenocarcinoma at 8 mo (73%) than the DES-treated wild-type mice (46%). The tumors of the MT-mER mice were often more aggressive than those in the wild-type animals. These tumors were also preceeded at 4 mo by a significantly higher incidence of the preneoplastic lesion atypical hyperplasia in the MT-mER mice (26% compared with 0% in the wild-type mice). Other DES-induced abnormalities were observed at equal rates in the wild-type and MT-mER mice. Although no tumors were observed in untreated wild-type females, a single untreated MT-mER female had uterine adenocarcinoma at 18 mo. These data indicate that the level of ER present in a tissue may also be a determining factor in development of estrogen-responsive tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Immune alterations in geriatric mice dosed subacutely with diethylstilbestrol (DES).

Exposure to both physiological and pharmacological doses of estrogenic compounds has been reported to alter immunologic responses in humans as well as in developmental and adult murine models. Despite the current therapeutic use of potent estrogens, including diethylstilbestrol (DES), in geriatric human disorders, elucidation of the effects of these agents on the aged immune system is limited. The present report describes highly significant alterations in the thymus and bone marrow of aged mice (21 +/- 1 months) exposed subacutely to DES. Severe thymic hypocellularity developed in treated mice following five consecutive days of intraperitoneal injection with 1.5 or 6.0 mg kg(-1) DES. Cell maturation within the thymus was also affected, as indicated by a significant decrease in CD4+8+ cells and a concomitant increase in CD4-8- cells. Cellularity of the bone marow was unchanged by DES. However, significant changes were observed in percentages of bone marrow cells expressing surface antigens CD45 (common leukocyte lineage), Mac-1 (macrophage lineage) and CD45R (B-lineage lymphocytes). Both percentages and total numbers of cells in the spleen expressing Thy 1.2 (T-lineage lymphocytes) were also reduced. These immune changes in geriatric mice exposed to DES were similar in direction but more severe than those reported in either young adult or perinatal models. These data may suggest a need for considering the geriatric immune system separately from other age groups when determining effects of immunosuppressive or immunotoxic compound exposure.

Aging↗

[meso-1,2-bis(2,6-dichloro-4-hydroxyphenyl) ethylenediamine]dichloroplatinum(II), a compound with a specific activity on hormone-sensitive breast cancers--evidence for a diethylstilbestrol-like mode of action.

[meso-1,2-Bis(2,6-dichloro-4-hydroxyphenyl)ethylenediamine]- dichloroplatinum(II) (meso-1-PtCl2), an estrogenic and cytotoxic platinum complex, shows activity against ER+ but not against ER- breast cancers in vivo (ER: estrogen receptor; ER+ and ER- indicate the presence or absence of the ER). To clarify whether its estrogenic or its cytotoxic potency or both properties are the cause of this specific inhibitory effect, we tested meso-1-PtCl2 comparatively in vivo on an ER+ and an ER- murine breast cancer (MXT-M-3.2 MC and MXT-M-3.2(ovex) MC, respectively), and in vitro on two cell lines derived from the former in vivo models (MXT+ and MXT-, respectively). The estrogens diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the ligand of meso-1-PtCl2 (meso-1), responsible for the hormonal effect of meso-1-PtCl2, and the cytotoxic drug cisplatin (cDDP) were used as comparative substances. Meso-1-PtCl2. DES and cDDP showed a strong and comparable activity on the ER+ MXT-M-3.2 MC in vivo, meso-1 being somewhat less inhibitory. In experiments on the murine, ER- MXT-M-3.2(ovex) MC only cDDP caused a marked inhibitory effect. The other compounds were inactive or only marginally active. In accordance with the in vivo results cDDP was also very active on the MXT+ and MXT- breast cancer cell line. In contrast to this meso-1-PtCl2, meso-1, and DES proved to be only weakly active or inactive on both cell lines. From these results it can be concluded that there is only little if any contribution of the cytotoxic PtCl2 moiety of meso-1-PtCl2 to the anti-breast cancer activity in vivo. On the ER+ MXT-M-3.2 MC transplanted into ovariectomized mice meso-1-PtCl2 yielded a biphasic dose activity curve, i.e. an increase of the tumor growth at low doses followed by a decrease at high doses, identical with those of the estrogens DES and meso-1. These results indicate that meso-1-PtCl2 inhibits ER+ breast cancers by its estrogenicity in the same manner as meso-1 and DES. The complex mechanism of anti-breast cancer active estrogens involves presumably the endocrine and/or the immune system. Its investigation is the subject of further studies.

Animals↗

Atypical vaginal adenosis and cervical ectropion. Association with clear cell adenocarcinoma in diethylstilbestrol-exposed offspring.

Knowledge of the evolution of clear cell adenocarcinomas of the vagina and cervix in diethylstilbestrol-exposed progeny has remained elusive despite the known topographical association of these tumors with the tuboendometrial form of vaginal adenosis and cervical ectropion. Twenty radical hysterectomy or radical hysterectomy and vaginectomy specimens of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix were serially blocked in toto; tuboendometrial epithelium was found in the vagina in 19 (95%) of the cases, usually in greatest concentration at the margin of the tumor, particularly inferiorly. Foci of atypical tuboendometrial epithelium were identified in 16 (80%) of the cases, almost always immediately adjacent to the tumor. Twenty-five of a second group of 47 specimens in which only substantial portions of the vagina or cervix adjacent to a clear cell adenocarcinoma were available for examination also had foci of atypical tuboendometrial epithelium. The frequency with which atypical tuboendometrial glands in the vagina and cervix were associated with the carcinomas and the proximity of the former to the latter provide strong evidence that atypical vaginal adenosis and atypical cervical ectropion of the tuboendometrial type are precursors of clear cell adenocarcinoma.

Cervix Uteri↗

A phase II study of high-dose estrogens (diethylstilbestrol diphosphate) in prostate cancer.

Twenty-five patients with metastatic prostate cancer resistant to primary hormone therapy, received high-dose intravenous diethylstilbestrol diphosphate (Stilphostrol [Miles Pharm], DES-P) in a Phase II study using established response criteria. Objective response rate was 17%, while 22% of the patients were subjectively improved. Moderate gastrointestinal toxicity was reported in 10 patients (40%). Thromboembolic complications were seen in 2 (8%). The role of high-dose Stilphostrol in the treatment of hormone-resistant prostate cancer is limited.

Acid Phosphatase↗