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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on March 31, 2005
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/dei004
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received February 11, 2005
Revised February 23, 2005
Accepted March 3, 2005

Brief report

Absence of hepatotoxicity after long-term, low-dose flutamide in hyperandrogenic girls and young women

Lourdes Ibáñez 1*, Adriana Jaramillo 1, Angela Ferrer 1, and Francis de Zegher 2

1 Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Passeig de sant Joan de Déu, 2 08950 Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain
2 Department of Pediatrics, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Lourdes Ibáñez, E-mail: libanez{at}hsjdbcn.org


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: Flutamide is a pure non-steroidal anti-androgen that may be hepatotoxic, when given in high-dose (750 mg/d). Low- to ultralow-doses (250-62.5 mg/day) have been recently explored in patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and these lower doses were found to confer benefit on multiple PCOS markers. There is a need for evidence on the potential hepatotoxicity of low- and ultralow-dose flutamide therapy. METHODS: We assessed circulating levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as markers of hepatotoxicity in a total of 190 hyperandrogenic girls and young women receiving low- or ultralow-dose flutamide because of established (n=150) or incipient (n=40) PCOS without obesity. Assessments were performed before start of flutamide, after 3 months, and subsequently at least twice yearly. RESULTS: AST and ALT results were normal at baseline, and they remained so on flutamide treatment, including between 3 months and last assessment, which was after a mean time of 19 months on low- or ultralow-dose flutamide (range 3-54 months). None of the AST or ALT levels at any time during flutamide treatment was ≥45 U/L. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence for hepatotoxicity in 190 hyperandrogenic girls or young women receiving low- or ultralow-dose flutamide for up to 54 months. These results may represent a first step in a long process whereby the status of low- and ultralow-dose flutamide may gradually evolve from ‘absence of evidence on toxicity’ towards ‘evidence of absence of hepatic toxicity’. Ultralow-dose flutamide may become a key component within future therapies for hyperandrogenic states in girls and young women.

Keywords: androgen; androgen receptor; flutamide; hepatotoxicity; PCOS.
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