Treatment of experimental ovarian carcinoma with monthly injection of the agonist D-Trp-6-LH-RH: a preliminary report.

Hormones, particularly gonadotropins, have been implicated in the development of ovarian cancer. Chronic administration of agonistic analogs of luteinizing-hormone releasing-hormone (LH-RH) induces an inhibition of the pituitary-gonadal axis. The blockade of the release of luteinizing-hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) may exert a possible therapeutic effect on ovarian cancer. We examined the results of prolonged administration of D-Trp-6-LH-RH, an agonistic analog of LH-RH in experimental ovarian cancer. We used the recently developed ovarian cancer model in rats, which is produced by treatment of pregnant rats with N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP), following which a high incidence of ovarian tumors are induced in the offspring. In morphologic aspects the induced tumor resembles human ovarian neoplasms. Once a month administration of a delayed release preparation of microcapsules of D-Trp-6-LH-RH prolonged the survival and decreased tumor growth and the incidence of metastases. Additional experimental and clinical studies are needed to determine the efficacy of the treatment with LH-RH analogs in ovarian cancer.