INDICATIONS, CLINICAL USE AND TOXICITY OF 4-4′ DIHYDROXY DIETHYL STILBENE

THE PRESENT PAPER is a report of a 2-year survey of the estrogenic effectiveness, clincal usefulness and safety of stilbestrol (4-4′ hydroxy-a-bdiethyl stilbene). A number of other synthetic estrogenic drugs including stilbestrol dipropionate, hexestrol, and a methylated form of stilbestrol have been studied less extensively and will be reported on at a later date. In a previous clinical study (1) on ico patients who received stilbestrol for varying periods of time guarded conclusions were drawn. The present report covers a much larger group of patients given stilbestrol over an extended period. Most of the original observations can now be confirmed in the light of a great deal more collected data. The series under consideration is the largest yet reported, numbering over 600 patients, all of whom have been under observation for at least 6 months, most of them for 12 months, and some for as long as 21 months. Careful clinical and laboratory check-up has been employed throughout the investigation.