Cellular morphometric analysis of the postmenopausal endometrium during treatment with percutaneous estradiol-17 beta with and without oral gestagen.

The effects of percutaneous estradiol-17 beta 3 mg daily on the postmenopausal endometrium were quantified by morphometric analysis during 6 months of cyclic replacement therapy. A marked cellular response was recorded, together with increased serum levels of estradiol-17 beta and a satisfactory therapeutic effect. Glandular epithelial cells and nuclei proved to be the most sensitive markers for the estrogenic effect, with profile areas increasing 80% and 65% respectively, whereas stromal cell nuclei showed a weaker response. In the women investigated, no correlation was found between individual cell growth and estrogen level. The increase in mean cellular profile areas was quite similar in women taking lynestrenol 5 mg daily for the last 10 days of each treatment cycle, as compared with those receiving unopposed estrogen. A 10-day gestagen supplementation was found too short to reduce the estrogen-induced growth.