Ethinylestradiol sulfonate

Ethinylestradiol sulfonate (EES), sold under the brand names Deposiston and Turisteron among others, is an estrogen medication which has been used in birth control pills for women and in the treatment of prostate cancer in men. It has also been investigated in the treatment of breast cancer in women. The medication was combined with norethisterone acetate in birth control pills. EES is taken by mouth once per week. Side effects of EES in men include breast tenderness, gynecomastia, feminization, sexual dysfunction, and cardiovascular complications, among others. EES is a synthetic estrogen and hence is an agonist of the estrogen receptor, the biological target of estrogens like estradiol. It is an estrogen ester and a long-lasting prodrug of ethinylestradiol in the body. EES is rapidly taken up into fat and slowly released from it, resulting in a biological half-life of about 6 days with the oral route and allowing the medication to be taken only once per week. EES was first synthesized in 1967, was first introduced as a birth control pill in 1978, and was introduced for the treatment of prostate cancer in 1980. It has been marketed in Germany, but may no longer be available. EES has been used in combination with norethisterone acetate as a once-a-week birth control pill and by itself as a form of high-dose estrogen therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. It has also been assessed in the treatment of breast cancer. The medication is used at a dosage of 1 mg once per week in birth control pills and 1 to 2 mg once per week in the treatment of prostate cancer. The 1 week and 2 mg/week dosages of EES are equivalent to daily doses of 0.143 mg and 0.285 mg EES, respectively. EES has been used in combination with antiandrogens such as flutamide, bicalutamide, and cyproterone acetate as a form of combined androgen blockade and as an alternative to the combination of an antiandrogen and surgical or medical castration in the treatment of prostate cancer.