# Esterified estrogens

Esterified estrogens (EEs), sold under the brand names Estratab and Menest among others, is an estrogen medication which is used hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms and low sex hormone levels in women, to treat breast cancer in both women and men, and to treat prostate cancer in men. It is formulated alone or in combination with methyltestosterone. It is taken by mouth.
Side effects of EEs include nausea, breast tension, edema, and breakthrough bleeding among others. It is an estrogen, or an agonist of the estrogen receptors, the biological target of estrogens like estradiol. EEs are a prodrug mainly of estradiol and to a lesser extent of equilin.
EEs were introduced for medical use by 1970. They are available in only a few countries, such as Chile and the United States. They have also been marketed in Argentina and Switzerland in the past.

## Medical uses

EEs are used in hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, female hypogonadism, ovariectomy, and primary ovarian failure and in the treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer.
vte Estrogen dosages for menopausal hormone therapy :
| Route/form | Estrogen | Low | Standard | High |
| Oral | Estradiol | 0.5–1 mg/day | 1–2 mg/day | 2–4 mg/day |
| Oral | Estradiol valerate | 0.5–1 mg/day | 1–2 mg/day | 2–4 mg/day |
| Oral | Estradiol acetate | 0.45–0.9 mg/day | 0.9–1.8 mg/day | 1.8–3.6 mg/day |
| Oral | Conjugated estrogens | 0.3–0.45 mg/day | 0.625 mg/day | 0.9–1.25 mg/day |
| Oral | Esterified estrogens | 0.3–0.45 mg/day | 0.625 mg/day | 0.9–1.25 mg/day |
| Oral | Estropipate | 0.75 mg/day | 1.5 mg/day | 3 mg/day |
| Oral | Estriol | 1–2 mg/day | 2–4 mg/day | 4–8 mg/day |
| Oral | Ethinylestradiol$^a$ | 2.5–10 μg/day | 5–20 μg/day | – |
| Nasal spray | Estradiol | 150 μg/day | 300 μg/day | 600 μg/day |
| Transdermal patch | Estradiol | 25 μg/day$^b$ | 50 μg/day$^b$ | 100 μg/day$^b$ |
| Transdermal gel | Estradiol | 0.5 mg/day | 1–1.5 mg/day | 2–3 mg/day |
| Vaginal | Estradiol | 25 μg/day | – | – |
| Vaginal | Estriol | 30 μg/day | 0.5 mg 2x/week | 0.5 mg/day |
| IMTooltip Intramuscular or SC injection | Estradiol valerate | – | – | 4 mg 1x/4 weeks |
| IMTooltip Intramuscular or SC injection | Estradiol cypionate | 1 mg 1x/3–4 weeks | 3 mg 1x/3–4 weeks | 5 mg 1x/3–4 weeks |
| IMTooltip Intramuscular or SC injection | Estradiol benzoate | 0.5 mg 1x/week | 1 mg 1x/week | 1.5 mg 1x/week |
| SC implant | Estradiol | 25 mg 1x/6 months | 50 mg 1x/6 months | 100 mg 1x/6 months |
| Footnotes: $^a$ = No longer used or recommended, due to health concerns. $^b$ = As a single patch applied once or twice per week (worn for 3–4 days or 7 days), depending on the formulation. Note: Dosages are not necessarily equivalent. Sources: See template. |||||

### Available forms

EEs are available in the form of 0.3 mg, 0.625 mg, 1.25 mg, and 2.5 mg oral tablets. Estratest is a combination formulation of 1.25 mg EEs with 2.5 mg methyltestosterone.

## Pharmacology

EEs consist primarily of sodium estrone sulfate and sodium equilin sulfate, and are very similar to conjugated estrogens (CEEs, conjugated equine estrogens; brand name Premarin). However, EEs and CEEs differ in the sources of their contents and in the percentages of their constituents; CEEs consist of approximately 53% sodium estrone sulfate and 25% sodium equilin sulfate, while EEs contain about 75 to 85% sodium estrone sulfate and 6 to 11% sodium equilin sulfate. EEs have been found to produce similar serum levels of estrone and estradiol relative to CEEs, although with higher levels of estrone and lower levels of equilin. One study found that the risk of venous thrombosis may be less with EEs relative to CEEs.
vte Relative oral potencies of estrogens :
| Estrogen | HFTooltip Hot flashes | VETooltip Vaginal epithelium | UCaTooltip Urinary calcium | FSHTooltip Follicle-stimulating hormone | LHTooltip Luteinizing hormone | HDLTooltip High-density lipoprotein-CTooltip Cholesterol | SHBGTooltip Sex hormone-binding globulin | CBGTooltip Corticosteroid-binding globulin | AGTTooltip Angiotensinogen | Liver |
| Estradiol | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Estrone | ? | ? | ? | 0.3 | 0.3 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Estriol | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | ? | ? | ? | 0.67 |
| Estrone sulfate | ? | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8–0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5–0.7 | 1.4–1.5 | 0.56–1.7 |
| Conjugated estrogens | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.1–1.3 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.0–3.2 | 1.3–1.5 | 5.0 | 1.3–4.5 |
| Equilin sulfate | ? | ? | 1.0 | ? | ? | 6.0 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 7.5 | ? |
| Ethinylestradiol | 120 | 150 | 400 | 60–150 | 100 | 400 | 500–600 | 500–600 | 350 | 2.9–5.0 |
| Diethylstilbestrol | ? | ? | ? | 2.9–3.4 | ? | ? | 26–28 | 25–37 | 20 | 5.7–7.5 |
| Sources and footnotes Notes: Values are ratios, with estradiol as standard (i.e., 1.0). Abbreviations: HF = Clinical relief of hot flashes. VE = Increased proliferation of vaginal epithelium. UCa = Decrease in UCaTooltip urinary calcium. FSH = Suppression of FSHTooltip follicle-stimulating hormone levels. LH = Suppression of LHTooltip luteinizing hormone levels. HDL-C, SHBG, CBG, and AGT = Increase in the serum levels of these liver proteins. Liver = Ratio of liver estrogenic effects to general/systemic estrogenic effects (hot flashes/gonadotropins). Sources: See template. |||||||||||
vte Protein binding and metabolic clearance rates of estrogens :
| Compound | RBATooltip Relative binding affinity to SHBGTooltip sex hormone-binding globulin (%) | Bound to SHBG (%) | Bound to albumin (%) | Total bound (%) | MCRTooltip Metabolic clearance rate (L/day/m$^2$) |
| 17β-Estradiol | 50 | 37 | 61 | 98 | 580 |
| Estrone | 12 | 16 | 80 | 96 | 1050 |
| Estriol | 0.3 | 1 | 91 | 92 | 1110 |
| Estrone sulfate | 0 | 0 | 99 | 99 | 80 |
| 17β-Dihydroequilin | 30 | ? | ? | ? | 1250 |
| Equilin | 8 | 26 | 13 | ? | 2640 |
| 17β-Dihydroequilin sulfate | 0 | ? | ? | ? | 375 |
| Equilin sulfate | 0 | ? | ? | ? | 175 |
| Δ$^8$-Estrone | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1710 |
| Notes: RBA for SHBG (%) is compared to 100% for testosterone. Sources: See template. ||||||

## Chemistry

EEs contain synthetic, plant-derived estrogens and are manufactured from soybeans and yams.

## History

EEs were introduced for medical use by 1970.

## Society and culture
### Generic names

Estrogens, esterified is the generic name of the drug and its USPTooltip United States Pharmacopeia. It is also known as esterified estrogens.

### Brand names

EEs are marketed under a variety of brand names including Amnestrogen, Estragyn, Estratab, Evex, Femibel, Femogen, Menest, Neo Estrone Tab, and Oestro-Feminal alone, and, in combination with methyltestosterone, under the brand names Covaryx, Delitan, Eemt, Essian, Estratest, Feminova-T, Menogen, and Syntest.

### Availability

EEs are or have been marketed in Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, and the United States. Both EEs and the combination of EEs and methyltestosterone are listed as being marketed only in Chile and the United States as of present.