Use of analogues of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone for the treatment of cancer

Introduction When research on luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) and analogues started in many pharmaceutical companies, it was predicted that these agents would be used for the treatment of hypogonadal states in human clinical medicine and for the regulation and improvement of fertility in veterinary medicine. The major objective, however, was to produce an antagonist of LH-RH which could be used primarily as an antifertility agent in men and women. Like a number of other biologically potent molecules the unexpected results provided by LH-RH and its agonistic analogues changed both the impetus and direction of research. The finding that potent analogues of LH-RH would prevent puberty when given continuously to immature female rats and would cause ovarian and uterine atrophy in mature rats (Johnson, Gendrich & White, 1976; Vale, Rivier, Rivier & Brown, 1977) prompted a rapid re-appraisal of the therapeutic potential of these agents. The paradoxical anti-gonadal effect was not