Masteron

Drostanolone, sold under brand names including Masteron, Masteril, and Drolban, is an anabolic-androgenic steroid of the dihydrotestosterone family, structurally a form of DHT bearing an added methyl group. It was first described in the late 1950s and introduced for medical use around 1960 ^[2]. Historically its main licensed use was in the palliative treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer in women, where its androgenic action was employed to oppose tumor growth, an application later largely superseded by better-tolerated drugs. The unmodified compound was little used on its own; instead it was marketed as esters, principally drostanolone propionate and, less commonly, drostanolone enanthate, which prolong its action after injection.

As a DHT derivative, drostanolone has pharmacological features that set it apart from testosterone. It binds the androgen receptor and shows a relatively high anabolic-to-androgenic ratio in animal assays, and, importantly, it cannot be converted by the aromatase enzyme into estrogen, so it does not produce estrogen-related effects such as fluid retention or breast tissue growth in men ^[1]. It is not 17-alpha-alkylated, the structural change that makes many oral steroids hard on the liver, so it is given by injection and is not considered notably hepatotoxic by that mechanism ^[1]. These properties are the reason it found a specific niche in physique sport.

In non-medical use, drostanolone is favored by some bodybuilders and athletes, typically during cutting phases, for the lean, hardened muscular look it is believed to promote while sparing muscle during calorie restriction. Because it is widely misused, it is a frequent target of sports drug testing; in anti-doping analysis it has been described as one of the most commonly detected anabolic steroids ^[2]. Considerable analytical research has mapped its urinary metabolites to extend how long use can be detected, identifying long-lived glucuronide and sulfate metabolites that serve as markers of drostanolone misuse for weeks after administration ^[2][3][4]. It is prohibited in sport by anti-doping authorities.

Drostanolone is a controlled substance in many jurisdictions; in the United States it is a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, and it is similarly restricted elsewhere. Like other anabolic-androgenic steroids used at the high, non-therapeutic doses typical of physique enhancement, it carries health risks including acne, accelerated male-pattern hair loss, adverse changes in cholesterol, cardiovascular strain, suppression of the body's own testosterone production, and, in women, masculinizing effects such as voice deepening and increased body hair ^[1]. Because much non-medical supply is unregulated, product identity and purity are not assured.

Masteron (drostanolone) is an injectable DHT-derived androgen that does not aromatize, so its risks skew androgenic and cardiovascular rather than estrogenic. It suppresses endogenous testosterone production, requiring recovery support after use, and its DHT backbone tends to accelerate male-pattern hair loss and acne in susceptible users, with a real virilization risk in women even at low doses. It worsens the lipid profile by lowering HDL and can raise blood pressure, contributing to cardiovascular strain typical of the class. Because it is not liver-toxic in injectable form, hepatic risk is low, but as an unapproved-for-humans compound its safety rests on anecdotal and pharmacologic reasoning rather than clinical trials. It is contraindicated in pregnancy, prostate or breast cancer, and pre-existing cardiovascular disease.

Masteron is the trade name for drostanolone propionate, an anabolic steroid created by Syntex Pharmaceuticals in 1959, the same period Syntex developed oxymetholone. On reaching the prescription market it was used almost exclusively to treat advanced, inoperable breast cancer in postmenopausal women, chosen for its comparatively low androgenic rating and reduced virilization risk. It was sold under names including Masteril, Drolban (under an Eli Lilly license), and Drostanolonum. Superseded by tamoxifen and other oncology options, its medical use faded, and Masteron became a widely used cutting and pre-contest steroid in bodybuilding, obtained largely through the grey market.