The use of an impeded androgen--danazol--in the management of benign breast disorders.

Danazol, an impeded androgen with moderate antigonadotropin properties, was administered to 58 patients with a variety of benign breast disorders. The disturbances were present from 3 months to 20 years; the ages ranged from 21 to 50 years. The dose varied from 100 to 400 mg. per day for 74 to 310 days, depending upon the severity of the disorder. Most of the patients had favorable responses: 44 (75.8 per cent) experienced complete relief of subjective discomfort with disappearance of clinical signs; 17 (65.3 per cent) of the 26 patients followed from 11 to 32 months after discontinued therapy, remained symptom-free, while the others experienced moderate to complete recurrence. Fifty per cent of the women did not menstrate while on medication. Side effects were few and transient.