Long-term endocrine profiles of prostatic carcinoma patients under pernasal as well as intramuscular Gn-RH analogue treatment.

The treatment with supraphysiological doses of the gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue Buserelin results in the suppression of serum testosterone to castration range with a probability of 95% after 28 days. This decrease is paralleled by a decline of the intracellularly active androgen dihydrotestosterone, a decrease of the unbound fraction of testosterone and a drop of the production rate of testosterone to values as low as after bilateral orchiectomy. The adrenal steroids androstenedione, DHEA-S and cortisol and the non-steroidal hormones prolactin and thyroxin are not affected by Gn-RH analogue treatment. The beneficial effect of Buserelin in the treatment of prostatic carcinoma is due to medical castration only. Further improvement, regarding practicability and cost effectiveness can be expected by intramuscular depot preparations.