estramustine and Urethral-Stricture

A high incidence of urethral strictures was noted in patients with prostatic cancer who were treated by antiandrogen therapy. Retrograde urethrograms showed urethral stricture in 24 of 42 patients (57%) after or during the therapy, despite the fact that no stricture was found before initiation of therapy. The stricture was long and the entire penile urethra was narrowed, associated with more severely constricted portions. All of the patients with urethral stricture had received estrogens, while none of the patients who had undergone castration alone or had not received any therapy showed a stricture. The strictures disappeared after the cessation of estrogen administration. These results indicate that estrogen administration induces stricture in the male anterior urethra. It is suggested that large amounts of estrogen cause atrophy and fibrosis of the spongy and cavernous bodies of the penis, depriving the urethra of its normal elasticity, which results in urethral stricture. The stricture is one of the complications of estrogen therapy for cancer of the prostate.

Topics: Aged; Diethylstilbestrol; Estramustine; Estrogens; Hexestrol; Humans; Male; Prostatic Neoplasms; Radiography; Urethral Stricture