Triphenylmethylethylene, also known as methyltriphenylethylene or as triphenylpropene, is a synthetic

nonsteroidal estrogen A nonsteroidal estrogen is an estrogen with a nonsteroidal chemical structure. The most well-known example is the stilbestrol estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES). Although nonsteroidal estrogens formerly had an important place in medicine, they hav ...

of the

triphenylethylene Triphenylethylene (TPE) is a simple aromatic hydrocarbon that possesses weak estrogenic activity. Its estrogenic effects were discovered in 1937. TPE was derived from structural modification of the more potent estrogen diethylstilbestrol, which is ...

group that is related to triphenylchloroethylene and was never marketed. Along with

diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with a ...

and triphenylchoroethylene, triphenylmethylethylene was studied in 1944 by

Sir Alexander Haddow Sir Alexander Haddow Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (18 January 1907 – 21 January 1976) was a Scottish physician and pathologist at the forefront of cancer research in the 1940s. He served as Director of the Institute of Cancer Research fr ...

for the treatment of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

, and this is historically notable in that it was the first time that high-dose estrogens were found to be effective in the treatment of breast cancer. However, while diethylstilbestrol and triphenylchloroethylene were found to be significantly effective, triphenylmethylethylene was less effective and showed a favorable response in only 1 of 4 treated cases.

References

Abandoned drugs Hormonal antineoplastic drugs Synthetic estrogens Triphenylethylenes {{genito-urinary-drug-stub

See also

References