Mitotane Therapy of Adrenocortical Carcinoma

To the Editor: The paper on adrenocortical carcinoma by Luton et al. (April 26 issue) 1 included a description of the results of mitotane therapy (Roussel–UCLAF) in 59 patients. The drug was given in capsules containing 0.5 g of micronized mitotane mixed with cellulose acetylphthalate. The side effects of mitotane were minimal, contrary to what others have reported. 2 Tumor response, which could be evaluated in 37 patients, was low: 8 patients (22 percent) had tumor regression (ranging from 10 to 80 percent) for 5 to 25 months. The other patients had progressive (73 percent) or stable (5 percent) disease. Mitotane therapy . . .