Results of hypophysectomy in the treatment of metastatic mammary carcinoma

Abstract

sectomies by means of transfrontal craniotomies were performed on 218 patients with metastatic mammary cancer.This report presents the results for the first 109 patients to February, 1958, with a minimum follow-up period of 17 months.The second 109 patients are also discussed in certain sections (Tables 1 and2).The results indicate that hypophysectomy is a worthwhile therapeutic procedure in the palliation of metastatic breast cancer. METHODS AND PROCEDUREAll of the patients who underwent hypophysectomy had evidence of advancing metastatic disease, and the majority were extremely ill.Most of them had had other forms of endocrine therapy and radiation therapy before hypophysectomy.No attempt was made to select patients for hypophysectomy.The only criterion for acceptance was the authors' opinion as to whether the patients could survive the surgical procedure.A few patients were rejected because of severe impairment of function of the liver, the lungs, or the brain.The operative technique employed with these patients has been described in detail elsewhere.'In brief, the procedure consisted of a coronal scalp incision behind the hairline, removal of the right frontal bone plate, division of the hypophyseal stalk, removal of