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Inhibition of the in Vivo Conversion of Androstenedione to Estrone by the Aromatase Inhibitor Vorozole in Healthy Postmenopausal Women¹

Departments of Endocrinology, Academic Hospital Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht [T. H. D., E. F., J. H. H. T., M. A. B.], and Department of Internal Medicine, Diakonessen Hospital Utrecht, 3582 KE Utrecht [E. W., H. W. R. N.], the Netherlands

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Department of Endocrinology, Academic Hospital G02.625, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Vorozole is a new, potent, and highly selective nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, which in animal and human studies was found to be about 1000-fold more potent than aminoglutethimide. Almost all aromatase-inhibiting activity resides in the dextro-enantiomer currently undergoing clinical trials. A marked decrease in circulating estrogens was found in several studies of healthy premenopausal women and male volunteers treated with the racemate, referred to as vorozole racemate.

To further evaluate the aromatase-inhibiting potency of this drug, the in vivo conversion of androstenedione to estrone was studied in 12 healthy postmenopausal women. Four h after a single oral dose of vorozole race-mate, [¹⁴C]androstenedione and [³H]estrone were infused at a constant rate for 2 h. Women were randomized to receive vorozole racemate orally in one of three different doses, i.e., 1, 2.5, and 5 mg, in a double-blind protocol. Each woman acted as her own control in an identical experiment with a placebo carried out 2-4 weeks either before or after the test with vorozole racemate. In the urine, collected for 4 days after each experiment, estrogens were extracted and purified until a constant ³H/¹⁴C ratio of estrone was achieved. The percentage conversion of androstenedione to estrone in the 12 placebo experiments was 2.19 ± 0.60% (mean ± SD, n = 12). Following a single administration of vorozole racemate, the conversion decreased to 0.14 ± 0.04%. The percentage inhibition was 93.0 ± 2.5 (n = 4) following administration of 1 mg vorozole racemate; administration of 2.5 or 5 mg resulted in an inhibition percentage of 93.2 ± 1.6 or 94.4 ± 1.2, respectively.

It is concluded that a single oral dose of 1-5 mg vorozole racemate results in an almost complete inhibition of in vivo aromatase activity.

¹ Preliminary results of this study were presented at the VIII International Congress on Hormonal Steroids, The Hague, the Netherlands, September 1990.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received 4/ 7/93. Accepted 7/28/93.

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