Comparison of flutamide (SCH-13521) and diethylstilbestrol in untreated advanced prostatic cancer

A double-blind study comparing the efficacy of flutamide (SCH-13521) and diethylstilbestrol in 15 patients with advanced, previously untreated adenocarcinoma in the prostate is herein presented. Patients receiving diethylstilbestrol, I mg. daily, remained stable without evidence of progression of their disease for an average of 25.6 weeks while those receiving either high- or low-dose flutamide showed no objective progression for an average of thirty weeks. There were no complete remissions, and no significant side effects were seen with either of these agents. In this small series of hormonally untreated Stage D prostatic cancer patients, neither agent displayed significant superiority.