Hormonal treatment of cryptorchidism.

Hormonal treatment of cryptorchidism with a gonadotropic substance from pregnancy urine or with an anterior-pituitary-like substance dates from the early 1930s. Success rates varied from 25 to 100%. Subsequently, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administered intramuscularly came into use. The success rates of several large studies have varied from 25 to 55%. Widely divergent results have, likewise, been reported following the intranasal administration of luteinizing-hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), the efficacy of which has been investigated in many studies, including placebo-controlled trials. Combined LHRH and hCG treatment schedules have been recently assessed, with equally divergent success rates. The most important factor influencing the rate of success is the testicular position before treatment: the lower the position of the testis before treatment the better the result. The experience with LHRH nasal spray treatment for cryptorchidism in 252 prepubertal boys is presented in this study, including several years follow-up, and the results compared with data reported in the literature.