Danazol in the Treatment of Mammary Dysplasia

Summary While employing danazol in the management of women with endometriosis, a voluntary comment patients frequently offered was that breast pain, nodularity and premenstrual engorgement were alleviated. Because of this unexpected finding, our attention was directed to the treatment of women with mammary dysplasia, particularly fibrocystic disease of the breast. Since the incidence of mammary cancer increases rapidly with age, we obtained xerommamograms in all suspected cases to exclude such a possibility. Danazol was employed in dosages varying from 100 to 400mg per day for 3 to 6 months, depending on the severity of the disorder. More than 75% of patients experienced marked improvement or elimination of the nodularity and engorgement, and many women were spared unnecessary surgery. When surgical interference was deemed necessary in cases of multiple nodosities, danazol treatment helped to identify for biopsy a dominant nodule that did not respond to therapy. Danazol has much to offer in the treatment of benign breast disease, and represents an important advance over ‘traditional’ hormonal regimens proposed in the past. Similar content being viewed by others References Asch, R.H. and Greenblatt, R.B.: The use of an impeded androgen — danazol in the management of benign breast disorders. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 127: 130 (1977). Bonte, J.: Endocrine factors, including antiovulatory steroids, favoring breast disease; in Castelazo-Ayala et al. (Eds) Gynecology and Obstetrics. Proceedings of the VII World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Mexico City, Oct. 1976, pp. 139–154 (Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam 1977). Cole, P. and MacMahon, B.: Oestrogen fractions during early reproductive life in the aetiology of breast cancer. Lancet 1: 604 (1969). Cowie, A.T.; Folley, S.J.; Malpress, F.H. and Richardson, K.C.: Studies on the hormonal induction of mammary growth and lactation in the goat. Journal of Endocrinology 8: 64 (1952). Davis, H.H.; Simons, M. and Davis, J.B.: Cystic disease and carcinoma of the breast: Relationship to carcinoma. Cancer 17: 957 (1964). Folley, S.J.: The Physiology and Biochemistry of Lactation (Thomas, Springfield, Illinois 1956). Greenblatt, R.B.: Progestational agents in clinical practice. Medical Science, pp.37–48 May (1967). Greenblatt, R.B.; Dmowski, W.P.; Mahesh, V.B. and Scholer, H.F.L.: Clinical studies with an antigonadotropin — danazol. Fertility and Sterility 22: 102 (1971). Jenkin, G.: Letter to the Editor. Fertility and Sterility 31: 462 (1979). Lauerson, N.H. and Wilson, K.H.: The effect of danazol in the treatment of chronic cystic mastitis. Obstetrics and Gynecology 48: 93 (1976). MacMahon, B.; Cole, P. and Brown, J.: Etiology of human breast cancer: A review. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 50: 21–42 (1973). Montgomery, A.C.V.; Palmer, B.V.; Biswas, S. and Monteiro, J.C.M.P.: Treatment of severe cyclical mastalgia. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 72: 489 (1979). Pilnik, S.: Clinical diagnosis of benign breast diseases. Journal of Reproductive Medicine 22: 277 (1979). Ricciardi, I. and Ianniruberto, A.: Tamoxifen-induced regression of benign breast lesions. Obstetrics and Gynecology 54: 80 (1979). Warren, S.: The relation of ‘chronic mastitis’ to carcinoma of the breast. Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics 71: 257 (1940). Author information Authors and Affiliations Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Greenblatt, B., Ben-Nun, I. Danazol in the Treatment of Mammary Dysplasia. Drugs 19, 349–355 (1980). https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198019050-00004 Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198019050-00004