The seventieth anniversary of the hormonal treatment of prostatic carcinoma

Hormonal treatment of prostatic carcinoma was initiated in the first half of twentieth century. Theoretical basis of hormonal treatment was established with the work of Charles Brenton Huggins published in 1941. Initial results were encouraging, but fatal outcome occurred anyway. There are four directions of hormonal treatment of pancreatic cancer: orchiectomy, estrogens, LHRH agonists, or antiandrogens. Refinements of hormonal therapy were constant and resulted in prolonged survival time and fairly improved quality of life. These results rank hormonal therapy of pancreatic cancer as the most successful systemic treatment of metastatic disease.