Tamoxifen: Role in Breast Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. In the last two decades, there have been various therapies proposed for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. One of them is targeted hormonal therapy (THT) for the estrogen and its receptor in breast cancer. The synthetic selective estrogen receptor modulator, tamoxifen is in the use for treating, estrogen receptor positive breast cancer from the last 30 years. US FDA approved tamoxifen as a drug in 1998. Tamoxifen reduces the incidence of breast cancer and thousand of lives been saved by preventing the risk of cancer in premenopausal women. Tamoxifen is beneficial as an adjuvant therapy. The major clinical problem arises due to the relapse in therapy and side effects associated with this drug. Various strategies, like the use of phytochemicals, biomarkers and inhibitors are in use to overcome these obstacles. They have a varying role in terms of estrogenic activity. The combinatorial approach of these results is a more effective treatment than a single drug system. The pharmacological designing of drug in response to the dose and effect: investigated in the clinical trials and observational studies is performed on the molecular basis. These findings suggest the use of low dose of tamoxifen at appropriate site along with the combinational strategy, as beneficial approach is in the treatment of breast cancer. This review focuses on selective estrogen receptor modulators, specially tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors given alone or in the combination for effective therapies in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients.

Keywords: Tamoxifen, breast cancer, estrogen, estrogen receptor, selective estrogen receptor modulators, aromatase inhibitors

Cite this Article

Ali and Mondal. Tamoxifen: Role in Breast Cancer Treatment. Research and Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology. 2016; 5(1): 1–19p.