A surprisingly ameliorating effect of high doses of estradiol in primary osteomyelofibrosis: a case report.

OBJECTIVES

To report a case of a postmenopausal woman with primary (idiopathic) osteomyelofibrosis who showed a considerable improvement under the effect of high doses of estradiol given for the control of severe intractable menopausal symptoms.

METHODS

This study was carried out by a case report.

RESULTS

Astonishingly, under the effect of high doses of estradiol, both clinical and laboratory indices of the disease were not only kept stable but also showed a noticeable improvement. Hemoglobin increased from a value of 8.4 gm/dl in 1989 to 10.7 gm/dl in 1996. Blood transfusion was no longer necessary, the patient had had no infections whatsoever and was only afraid of not being allowed to continue using these high estrogen doses, which seemed indispensable and central to her well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

High doses of estrogens could possibly be given the credit for ameliorating the natural sinister course of primary osteomyelofibrosis.