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Tamoxifen, sold under the brand name Nolvadex among others, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator used to prevent
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
in women and treat breast cancer in women and men. It is also being studied for other types of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. It has been used for Albright syndrome. Tamoxifen is typically taken daily
by mouth Oral administration is a route of administration where a substance is taken through the mouth. Per os abbreviated to P.O. is sometimes used as a direction for medication to be taken orally. Many medications are taken orally because they are i ...
for five years for breast cancer. Serious side effects include a small increased risk of
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ut ...
, stroke, vision problems, and
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
. Common side effects include irregular periods, weight loss, and
hot flashes Hot flashes (also known as hot flushes) are a form of flushing, often caused by the changing hormone levels that are characteristic of menopause. They are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and ...
. It may cause harm to the baby if taken during
pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...
or
breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
. It is a
selective estrogen-receptor modulator Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), also known as estrogen receptor agonist/antagonists (ERAAs), are a class of drugs that act on the estrogen receptor (ER). A characteristic that distinguishes these substances from pure ER agonists a ...
(SERM) and works by decreasing the growth of breast cancer cells. It is a member of the
triphenylethylene Triphenylethylene (TPE) is a simple aromatic hydrocarbon that possesses weak estrogenic activity. Its estrogenic effects were discovered in 1937. TPE was derived from structural modification of the more potent estrogen diethylstilbestrol, which is ...
group of
compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
s. Tamoxifen was initially made in 1962, by chemist Dora Richardson. It is on the
World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (aka Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health s ...
. Tamoxifen is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the 317th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 900thousand prescriptions.


Medical uses


Dysmenorrhea

Tamoxifen has been used effectively to improve blood flow, reduce uterine contractility and pain in dysmenorrhea patients.


Breast cancer

Tamoxifen is used for the treatment of both early and advanced
estrogen receptor Estrogen receptors (ERs) are a group of proteins found inside cells. They are receptors that are activated by the hormone estrogen (17β-estradiol). Two classes of ER exist: nuclear estrogen receptors ( ERα and ERβ), which are members of the ...
-positive (ER-positive or ER+) breast cancer in pre- and
postmenopausal Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...
women. Tamoxifen increases the risk of postmenopausal bleeding,
endometrial polyp An endometrial polyp or uterine polyp is a mass in the inner lining of the uterus. They may have a large flat base ( sessile) or be attached to the uterus by an elongated pedicle ( pedunculated). Pedunculated polyps are more common than sessile ...
s, hyperplasia, and endometrial cancer; using tamoxifen with an
intrauterine system A hormonal intrauterine device (IUD), also known as a intrauterine system (IUS) with progestogen and sold under the brand name Mirena among others, is an intrauterine device that releases a progestogenic hormonal agent such as levonorgestrel ...
releasing levonorgestrel might increase vaginal bleeding after 1 to 2 years, but reduces somewhat endometrial polyps and hyperplasia, but not necessarily endometrial cancer. Additionally, it is the most common hormone treatment for male breast cancer. It is also approved by the
FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
for the prevention of breast cancer in women at high risk of developing the disease. It has been further approved for the reduction of contralateral (in the opposite breast) cancer. The use of tamoxifen is recommended for 10 years. In 2006, the large STAR clinical study concluded that
raloxifene Raloxifene, sold under the brand name Evista among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and those on glucocorticoids. For osteoporosis it is less preferred than bisphosphonates. It is also used to ...
is also effective in reducing the incidence of breast cancer. Updated results after an average of 6.75 years of follow up found that raloxifene retains 76% of tamoxifen's effectiveness in preventing invasive breast cancer, with 45% fewer
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ut ...
s and 25% fewer blood clots in women taking raloxifene than in women taking tamoxifen.


Infertility

Tamoxifen is used for
ovulation induction Ovulation induction is the stimulation of ovulation by medication. It is usually used in the sense of stimulation of the development of ovarian follicles Ovulation Induction Retrieved on Mars 7, 2010 to reverse anovulation or oligoovulation. S ...
to treat infertility in women with
anovulatory Anovulation is when the ovaries do not release an oocyte during a menstrual cycle. Therefore, ovulation does not take place. However, a woman who does not ovulate at each menstrual cycle is not necessarily going through menopause. Chronic anovula ...
disorders. It is given at days three to seven of a woman's cycle. Tamoxifen improves fertility in males with infertility by disinhibiting the
hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis The hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG axis, also known as the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian/testicular axis) refers to the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and gonadal glands as if these individual endocrine glands were a single en ...
(HPG axis) via ER antagonism and thereby increasing the secretion of
luteinizing hormone Luteinizing hormone (LH, also known as luteinising hormone, lutropin and sometimes lutrophin) is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The production of LH is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) ...
(LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and increasing testicular
testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...
production.


Gynecomastia

Tamoxifen is used to prevent and treat
gynecomastia Gynecomastia (also spelled gynaecomastia) is the abnormal non-cancerous enlargement of one or both breasts in males due to the growth of breast tissue as a result of a hormone imbalance between estrogens and androgens. Updated by Brent Wisse ( ...
. It is taken as a preventative measure in small doses, or used at the onset of any symptoms such as nipple soreness or sensitivity. Other medications are taken for similar purposes such as
clomifene Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course ...
and the anti-aromatase drugs which are used in order to try to avoid the hormone-related adverse effects.


Early puberty

Tamoxifen is useful in the treatment of
peripheral precocious puberty In medicine, precocious puberty is puberty occurring at an unusually early age. In most cases, the process is normal in every aspect except the unusually early age and simply represents a variation of normal development. In a minority of childr ...
, for instance due to
McCune–Albright syndrome McCune–Albright syndrome is a complex genetic disorder affecting the bone, skin and endocrine systems. It is a mosaic disease arising from somatic activating mutations in '' GNAS'', which encodes the alpha-subunit of the Gs heterotrimeric G ...
, in both girls and boys. It has been found to decrease growth velocity and the rate of
bone maturation Bone age is the degree of a person's skeletal development. In children, bone age serves as a measure of physiological maturity and aids in the diagnosis of growth abnormalities, endocrine disorders, and other medical conditions. As a person grows f ...
in girls with precocious puberty, and hence to improve final
height Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is ab ...
in these individuals.


Available forms

Tamoxifen is available as a tablet or oral solution.


Contraindications

Tamoxifen has a number of
contraindication In medicine, a contraindication is a condition that serves as a reason not to take a certain medical treatment due to the harm that it would cause the patient. Contraindication is the opposite of indication, which is a reason to use a certain tre ...
s, including known
hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usually referred to as an over-reaction of the immune ...
to tamoxifen or other ingredients, individuals taking concomitant
coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...
-type anticoagulant therapy, and women with a history of
venous thromboembolism Venous thrombosis is blockage of a vein caused by a thrombus (blood clot). A common form of venous thrombosis is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms in the deep veins. If a thrombus breaks off (embolizes) and flows to the lungs to ...
(
deep vein thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
or
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
).


Side effects

A report in September 2009 from Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality suggests that tamoxifen, raloxifene, and tibolone used to treat breast cancer significantly reduce invasive breast cancer in midlife and older women, but also increase the risk of adverse side effects.


Endometrial cancer

Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). Even though it is an antagonist in breast tissue it acts as
partial agonist In pharmacology, partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered ligands which display both agonistic and antagonis ...
on the endometrium and has been linked to endometrial cancer in some women. Therefore, endometrial changes, including cancer, are among tamoxifen's side effects. With time, risk of endometrial cancer may be doubled to quadrupled, which is a reason tamoxifen is typically only used for five years. The American Cancer Society lists tamoxifen as a known
carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive subs ...
, stating that it increases the risk of some types of uterine cancer while lowering the risk of breast cancer recurrence.


Cardiovascular and metabolic

Tamoxifen treatment of postmenopausal women is associated with beneficial effects on serum lipid profiles. However, long-term data from clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a cardioprotective effect. For some women, tamoxifen can cause a rapid increase in
triglyceride A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''wikt:tri-#Prefix, tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other ...
concentration in the blood. In addition, there is an increased risk of
thromboembolism Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (t ...
especially during and immediately after major surgery or periods of immobility. Use of tamoxifen has been shown to slightly increase risk of
deep vein thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
,
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
, and stroke.


Liver toxicity

Tamoxifen has been associated with a number of cases of
hepatotoxicity Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn fr ...
. Several different varieties of hepatotoxicity have been reported. Tamoxifen can also precipitate
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also known as metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is excessive fat build-up in the liver without another clear cause such as alcohol use. There are two types; non-alcoholic ...
in obese and overweight women (not in normal weight women) at an average rate of 40% after a year use with 20 mg/day.


Overdose

Acute
overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.
of tamoxifen has not been reported in humans. In dose-ranging studies, tamoxifen was administered at very high doses in women (e.g., 300 mg/m2) and was found to produce acute
neurotoxicity Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...
including tremor,
hyperreflexia Hyperreflexia is overactive or overresponsive bodily reflexes. Examples of this include twitching and spastic tendencies, which indicate upper disease of the upper motor neurons and the lessening or loss of control ordinarily exerted by higher ...
, unsteady gait, and
dizziness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medical c ...
. These symptoms occurred within three to five days of therapy and disappeared within two to five days of discontinuation of therapy. No indications of permanent neurotoxicity were observed.
QT prolongation Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a condition affecting repolarization (relaxing) of the heart after a heartbeat, giving rise to an abnormally lengthy QT interval. It results in an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat which can result in fainting ...
was also observed with very high doses of tamoxifen. There is no specific
antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
for overdose of tamoxifen. Instead, treatment should be based on symptoms.


Interactions

Patients with variant forms of the gene
CYP2D6 Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP2D6'' gene. ''CYP2D6'' is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra. CYP2D ...
may not receive full benefit from tamoxifen because of too slow metabolism of the tamoxifen prodrug into its active metabolites. On 18 October 2006, the Subcommittee for Clinical Pharmacology recommended relabeling tamoxifen to include information about this gene in the package insert. Certain CYP2D6 variations in breast cancer patients lead to a worse clinical outcome for tamoxifen treatment.
Genotyping Genotyping is the process of determining differences in the genetic make-up (genotype) of an individual by examining the individual's DNA sequence using biological assays and comparing it to another individual's sequence or a reference sequence. ...
therefore has the potential for identification of women who have these CYP2D6 phenotypes and for whom the use of tamoxifen is associated with poor outcomes. Recent research has shown that 7–10% of women with breast cancer may not receive the full medical benefit from taking tamoxifen due to their genetic make-up. DNA Drug Safety Testing can examine DNA variations in the CYP2D6 and other important drug processing pathways. More than 20% of all clinically used medications are metabolized by CYP2D6 and knowing the CYP2D6 status of a person can help the doctor with the future selection of medications. Other molecular biomarkers may also be used to select appropriate patients likely to benefit from tamoxifen. Recent studies suggest that taking the
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs increase the extracellul ...
(SSRIs) antidepressants
paroxetine Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder ...
(Paxil), fluoxetine (Prozac), and
sertraline Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differ ...
(Zoloft) can decrease the effectiveness of tamoxifen, as these drugs compete for the CYP2D6 enzyme which is needed to metabolize tamoxifen into its active forms. A U.S. study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in 2009 found that after two years, 7.5% of women who took only tamoxifen had a recurrence, compared with 16% who took either paroxetine, fluoxetine or sertraline, drugs considered to be the most potent CYP2D6 inhibitors. That difference translates to a 120% increase in the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Patients taking the SSRIs Celexa (
citalopram Citalopram, sold under the brand name Celexa among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and so ...
), Lexapro (
escitalopram Escitalopram, sold under the brand names Lexapro and Cipralex, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. Escitalopram is mainly used to treat major depressive disorder and generalized anxiet ...
), and Luvox (
fluvoxamine Fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name Luvox and Faverin among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is primarily used to treat major depressive disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder ...
) did not have an increased risk of recurrence, due to their lack of competitive metabolism for the CYP2D6 enzyme. A newer study demonstrated a clearer and stronger effect from paroxetine in causing the worst outcomes. Patients treated with both paroxetine and tamoxifen have a 67% increased risk of death from breast cancer, from 24% to 91%, depending on the duration of coadministration. Tamoxifen interacts with certain other
antiestrogen Antiestrogens, also known as estrogen antagonists or estrogen blockers, are a class of drugs which prevent estrogens like estradiol from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking the estrogen receptor (ER) and/or ...
s. The
aromatase inhibitor Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a class of drugs used in the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women and in men, and gynecomastia in men. They may also be used off-label to reduce estrogen conversion when supplementing testosterone ex ...
aminoglutethimide induces the metabolism of tamoxifen. Conversely, the aromatase inhibitor
letrozole Letrozole, sold under the brand name Femara among others, is an aromatase inhibitor medication that is used in the treatment of breast cancer. It was patented in 1986 and approved for medical use in 1996. In 2020, it was the 257th most common ...
does not affect the metabolism of tamoxifen. However, tamoxifen induces the metabolism of letrozole and significantly reduces its concentrations.


Pharmacology


Pharmacodynamics


Selective estrogen receptor modulator activity

Tamoxifen acts as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), or as a
partial agonist In pharmacology, partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered ligands which display both agonistic and antagonis ...
of the
estrogen receptor Estrogen receptors (ERs) are a group of proteins found inside cells. They are receptors that are activated by the hormone estrogen (17β-estradiol). Two classes of ER exist: nuclear estrogen receptors ( ERα and ERβ), which are members of the ...
s (ERs). It has mixed
estrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal ac ...
ic and
antiestrogen Antiestrogens, also known as estrogen antagonists or estrogen blockers, are a class of drugs which prevent estrogens like estradiol from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking the estrogen receptor (ER) and/or ...
ic activity, with its profile of effects differing by tissue. For instance, tamoxifen has predominantly antiestrogenic effects in the
breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...
s but predominantly estrogenic effects in the
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...
and
liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...
. In breast tissue, tamoxifen acts as an ER antagonist so that
transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
of estrogen-responsive genes is inhibited. A beneficial side effect of tamoxifen is that it prevents bone loss by acting as an ER agonist (i.e., mimicking the effects of estrogen) in this cell type. Therefore, by inhibiting
osteoclasts An osteoclast () is a type of bone cell that breaks down bone tissue. This function is critical in the maintenance, repair, and remodeling of bones of the vertebral skeleton. The osteoclast disassembles and digests the composite of hydrated prote ...
, it prevents osteoporosis. When tamoxifen was launched as a drug, it was thought that tamoxifen would act as an ER antagonist in all tissues, including bone, and therefore it was feared that it would contribute to osteoporosis. It was therefore very surprising that the opposite effect was observed clinically. Hence tamoxifen's tissue selective action directly led to the formulation of the concept of SERMs. Tamoxifen is a long-acting SERM, with a nuclear retention of the ER–tamoxifen (or metabolite) complex of greater than 48 hours. It has relatively little
affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...
for the ERs itself and instead acts as a prodrug of
active metabolite An active metabolite is an active form of a drug after it has been processed by the body. Metabolites of drugs An active metabolite results when a drug is metabolized by the body into a modified form which continues to produce effects in the body ...
s such as
endoxifen Endoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) of the triphenylethylene group as well as a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. It is under development for the treatment ...
(4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen) and afimoxifene (4-hydroxytamoxifen; 4-OHT). These metabolites have approximately 30 to 100 times greater affinity for the ERs than tamoxifen itself. Per one study, tamoxifen had 7% and 6% of the affinity of
estradiol Estradiol (E2), also spelled oestradiol, is an estrogen steroid hormone and the major female sex hormone. It is involved in the regulation of the estrous and menstrual female reproductive cycles. Estradiol is responsible for the development o ...
for the
ERα Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), also known as NR3A1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group A, member 1), is one of two main types of estrogen receptor, a nuclear receptor (mainly found as a chromatin-binding protein) that is activated by the sex h ...
and
ERβ Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) also known as NR3A2 (nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group A, member 2) is one of two main types of estrogen receptor—a nuclear receptor which is activated by the sex hormone estrogen. In humans ERβ is encoded by ...
, respectively, whereas afimoxifene had 178% and 338% of the affinity of estradiol for the ERα and ERβ, respectively. Hence, afimoxifene showed 25-fold higher affinity for the ERα and 56-fold higher affinity for the ERβ than tamoxifen. The antiestrogenic potencies of endoxifen and afimoxifene are very similar. However, endoxifen occurs in much higher concentrations than afimoxifene and is now thought to be the major active form of tamoxifen in the body. Tamoxifen binds to ER competitively (with respect to the endogenous agonist estrogen) in tumor cells and other tissue targets, producing a nuclear complex that decreases DNA synthesis and inhibits estrogen effects. It is a nonsteroidal agent with potent antiestrogenic properties which compete with estrogen for
binding sites In biochemistry and molecular biology, a binding site is a region on a macromolecule such as a protein that binds to another molecule with specificity. The binding partner of the macromolecule is often referred to as a ligand. Ligands may includ ...
in breast and other tissues. Tamoxifen causes cells to remain in the G0 and G1 phases of the
cell cycle The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell that cause it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the duplication of its DNA (DNA replication) and some of its organelles, and sub ...
. Because it prevents (pre)cancerous cells from dividing but does not cause cell death, tamoxifen is cytostatic rather than cytocidal. Tamoxifen binds to ER, the ER/tamoxifen complex recruits other proteins known as co-repressors, and the complex then binds to DNA to modulate gene expression. Some of these proteins include NCoR and SMRT. Tamoxifen function can be regulated by a number of different variables including growth factors. Tamoxifen needs to block growth factor proteins such as ErbB2/HER2 because high levels of ErbB2 have been shown to occur in tamoxifen resistant cancers. Tamoxifen seems to require a protein
PAX2 Paired box gene 2, also known as Pax-2, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the ''PAX2'' gene. Function The Pax Genes, or Paired-Box Containing Genes, play important roles in the development and proliferation of multiple cell lines, dev ...
for its full anticancer effect. In the presence of high PAX2 expression, the tamoxifen/ER complex is able to suppress the expression of the pro-proliferative
ERBB2 Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ERBB2'' gene. ERBB is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene B, a gene originally isolated from the avian genome. The human protein is also frequently refer ...
protein. In contrast, when AIB-1 expression is higher than PAX2, tamoxifen/ER complex upregulates the expression of ERBB2 resulting in stimulation of breast cancer growth. Tamoxifen is antigonadotropic in
postmenopausal Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...
women and partially suppresses levels of the
gonadotropin Gonadotropins are glycoprotein hormones secreted by gonadotropic cells of the anterior pituitary of vertebrates. This family includes the mammalian hormones follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), the placental/ chorioni ...
s,
luteinizing hormone Luteinizing hormone (LH, also known as luteinising hormone, lutropin and sometimes lutrophin) is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The production of LH is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) ...
(LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in such women. However, it has progonadotropic effects in
premenopausal Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...
women and increases estrogen levels by 6-fold in them. Due to the nature of tamoxifen as a competitive ER ligand, this increase in estrogen levels is liable to interfere with the antiestrogenic efficacy of tamoxifen. The effects of tamoxifen on
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
Ki-67
expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of fixed expression * Metaphorical expression, a particular word, phrase, o ...
,
sex hormone-binding globulin Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) or sex steroid-binding globulin (SSBG) is a glycoprotein that binds to androgens and estrogens. When produced by the Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testis, it has also been called androgen ...
(SHBG) levels, and IGF-1 levels are dose-dependent across a dosage range of 1 to 20 mg/day in women with breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been found to decrease
insulin-like growth factor 1 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults. IGF-1 is a protein that in humans ...
(IGF-1) levels by 17 to 38% in women and men. Suppression of IGF-1 production in the liver is a well-known action of estrogens and SERMs. A 10 mg/day dosage of tamoxifen is nearly as effective as a 20 mg/day dosage in suppressing IGF-1 levels.


Other activities

Afimoxifene is an agonist of the
G protein-coupled estrogen receptor G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER), also known as G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''GPER'' gene. GPER binds to and is activated by the female sex hormone estradiol and is responsible ...
(GPER) with relatively low
affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...
. Its affinity for the receptor is in the range of 100 to 1,000 nM, relative to 3 to 6 nM for estradiol. In addition to its activity as a SERM, afimoxifene binds to both the estrogen-related receptor β and estrogen-related receptor γ and is an antagonist of the estrogen-related receptor γ (ERRγ).
Norendoxifen Norendoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI) of the triphenylethylene group that was never marketed. It is an active metabolite of the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SER ...
(4-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen), another
active metabolite An active metabolite is an active form of a drug after it has been processed by the body. Metabolites of drugs An active metabolite results when a drug is metabolized by the body into a modified form which continues to produce effects in the body ...
of tamoxifen, has been found to act as a potent
competitive Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
aromatase inhibitor Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a class of drugs used in the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women and in men, and gynecomastia in men. They may also be used off-label to reduce estrogen conversion when supplementing testosterone ex ...
( IC50 = 90 nM), and may also be involved in the antiestrogenic activity of tamoxifen. In addition to its activity as a SERM, tamoxifen is a potent and selective protein kinase C inhibitor, and is active in this regard at therapeutic concentrations. This action is thought to underlie the efficacy of tamoxifen in the treatment of
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. Tamoxifen is an inhibitor of P-glycoprotein.


Pharmacokinetics


Absorption

Tamoxifen is rapidly and extensively absorbed from the intestines with
oral administration Oral administration is a route of administration where a substance is taken through the mouth. Per os abbreviated to P.O. is sometimes used as a direction for medication to be taken orally. Many medications are taken orally because they are ...
. The
oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or or ...
bioavailability In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation. By definition, when a medication is administered intravenously, its bioavailability is 100%. Ho ...
of tamoxifen is approximately 100%, which is suggestive of minimal
first-pass metabolism The first pass effect (also known as first-pass metabolism or presystemic metabolism) is a phenomenon of drug metabolism whereby the concentration of a drug, specifically when administered orally, is greatly reduced before it reaches the system ...
in the intestines and
liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...
. Following intake, peak levels of tamoxifen occur after three to seven hours. Steady state levels of tamoxifen are reached typically after 3 to 4 weeks but possibly up to 16 weeks of daily administration. Steady state levels of afimoxifene are achieved after 8 weeks of daily tamoxifen administration. Peak levels of tamoxifen after a single 40 mg oral dose were 65 ng/mL and steady state levels at 20 mg/day were 310 ng/mL. Levels of tamoxifen show clear dose dependency across a dosage range of 1 to 20 mg/day. Endoxifen levels are approximately 5 to 10 times higher than afimoxifene levels, with large interindividual variability. Endoxifen levels have been reported as 10.8 to 15.9 ng/mL at steady state in
CYP2D6 Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP2D6'' gene. ''CYP2D6'' is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra. CYP2D ...
normal metabolizers during therapy with 20 mg/day tamoxifen. The most abundant metabolites of tamoxifen in terms of circulating concentrations are ''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, ''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen, (''Z'')-endoxifen, and tamoxifen ''N''-oxide.


Distribution

The
volume of distribution In pharmacology, the volume of distribution (VD, also known as apparent volume of distribution, literally, ''volume of dilution'') is the theoretical volume that would be necessary to contain the total amount of an administered drug at the same c ...
of tamoxifen is 50 to 60 L/kg and its clearance has been estimated as 1.2 to 5.1 L/hour. High concentrations of tamoxifen have been found in
breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...
,
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...
, liver,
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...
, lung,
pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an en ...
, and ovary tissue in animals and humans. Levels of tamoxifen in the uterus have been found to be 2- to 3-fold higher than in the circulation and in the breasts 10-fold higher than in the circulation. The
plasma protein binding Plasma protein binding refers to the degree to which medications attach to proteins within the blood. A drug's efficiency may be affected by the degree to which it binds. The less bound a drug is, the more efficiently it can traverse or diffuse t ...
of tamoxifen and afimoxifene is greater than 99%. A majority of tamoxifen is bound to
albumin Albumin is a family of globular proteins, the most common of which are the serum albumins. All the proteins of the albumin family are water-soluble, moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experience heat denaturation. Albumins ...
. Albumin alone binds 98.8% of tamoxifen while other
plasma protein Blood-proteins, also termed plasma proteins, are proteins present in blood plasma. They serve many different functions, including transport of lipids, hormones, vitamins and minerals in activity and functioning of the immune system. Other blood pr ...
s are not greatly involved.


Metabolism

Tamoxifen is a prodrug and is
metabolized Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
in the
liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...
by the
cytochrome P450 Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are important for the clearance of various co ...
isoform A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene or gene family and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some iso ...
s CYP3A4,
CYP2C9 Cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 9 (abbreviated CYP2C9) is an enzyme protein. The enzyme is involved in metabolism, by oxidation, of both xenobiotics, including drugs, and endogenous compounds, including fatty acids. In humans, the prote ...
, and
CYP2D6 Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP2D6'' gene. ''CYP2D6'' is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra. CYP2D ...
into
active metabolite An active metabolite is an active form of a drug after it has been processed by the body. Metabolites of drugs An active metabolite results when a drug is metabolized by the body into a modified form which continues to produce effects in the body ...
s such as
endoxifen Endoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) of the triphenylethylene group as well as a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. It is under development for the treatment ...
(4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen) and afimoxifene (4-hydroxytamoxifen). Conversion of tamoxifen by ''N''-demethylation into ''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, which is catalyzed primarily by CYP3A4 and
CYP3A5 Cytochrome P450 3A5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP3A5'' gene. Tissue distribution ''CYP3A5'' encodes a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes. Like most of the cytochrome P450, the CYP3A5 is expressed in the ...
, is responsible for approximately 92% of tamoxifen metabolism. Conversely, 4-hydroxylation of tamoxifen into afimoxifene is responsible for only about 7% of tamoxifen metabolism. Following its formation, ''N''-desmethyltamoxifen is
oxidized Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...
into several other metabolites, the most notable of which is endoxifen. Another active metabolite,
norendoxifen Norendoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI) of the triphenylethylene group that was never marketed. It is an active metabolite of the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SER ...
(4-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen), is formed via ''N''-demethylation of endoxifen or 4-hydroxylation of ''N'',''N''-didesmethyltamoxifen. Tamoxifen and its metabolites undergo
conjugation Conjugation or conjugate may refer to: Linguistics * Grammatical conjugation, the modification of a verb from its basic form * Emotive conjugation or Russell's conjugation, the use of loaded language Mathematics * Complex conjugation, the chang ...
, including
glucuronidation Glucuronidation is often involved in drug metabolism of substances such as drugs, pollutants, bilirubin, androgens, estrogens, mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, fatty acid derivatives, retinoids, and bile acids. These linkages involve gl ...
and
sulfation Sulfation is the chemical reaction that entails the addition of SO3 group. In principle, many sulfations would involve reactions of sulfur trioxide (SO3). In practice, most sulfations are effected less directly. Regardless of the mechanism, the ...
. Tamoxifen may inhibit its own metabolism.


Elimination

Tamoxifen has a long
elimination half-life Biological half-life (also known as elimination half-life, pharmacologic half-life) is the time taken for concentration of a biological substance (such as a medication) to decrease from its maximum concentration ( Cmax) to half of Cmax in the bl ...
of typically 5 to 7 days, with a range of 4 to 11 days. Similarly, the half-life of afimoxifene is 14 days. Conversely, the half-life of
endoxifen Endoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) of the triphenylethylene group as well as a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. It is under development for the treatment ...
is 50 to 70 hours (2–3 days). The long half-lives of tamoxifen and afimoxifene are attributed to their high plasma protein binding as well as to enterohepatic recirculation. Upon discontinuation of treatment, levels of tamoxifen and its metabolites persist in the circulation for at least 6 weeks. Tamoxifen is
excreted Excretion is a process in which metabolic waste is eliminated from an organism. In vertebrates this is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specific tasks after lea ...
in bile and is eliminated in feces, while small amounts are eliminated in
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellular ...
.


Chemistry

Tamoxifen is a
nonsteroidal A nonsteroidal compound is a drug that is not a steroid nor a steroid derivative. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are distinguished from corticosteroids as a class of anti-inflammatory agents. List of nonsteroidal steroid receptor mo ...
SERM of the
triphenylethylene Triphenylethylene (TPE) is a simple aromatic hydrocarbon that possesses weak estrogenic activity. Its estrogenic effects were discovered in 1937. TPE was derived from structural modification of the more potent estrogen diethylstilbestrol, which is ...
family and was structurally derived from
diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with a ...
-like estrogens and
antiestrogen Antiestrogens, also known as estrogen antagonists or estrogen blockers, are a class of drugs which prevent estrogens like estradiol from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking the estrogen receptor (ER) and/or ...
s such as
chlorotrianisene Chlorotrianisene (CTA), also known as tri-''p''-anisylchloroethylene (TACE) and sold under the brand name Tace among others, is a nonsteroidal estrogen related to diethylstilbestrol (DES) which was previously used in the treatment of menopausal ...
and
ethamoxytriphetol Ethamoxytriphetol (developmental code name MER-25) is a synthetic nonsteroidal antiestrogen that was studied clinically in the late 1950s and early 1960s but was never marketed. MER-25 was first reported in 1958, and was the first antiestrogen t ...
. Initially,
clomifene Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course ...
was synthesized, and tamoxifen was developed subsequently. Tamoxifen is closely related structurally to other triphenylethylenes, such as clomifene, nafoxidine, ospemifene,
toremifene Toremifene, sold under the brand name Fareston among others, is a medication which is used in the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women.https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/020497s006lbl.pdf It is taken ...
, and numerous others. Other SERMs, like
raloxifene Raloxifene, sold under the brand name Evista among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and those on glucocorticoids. For osteoporosis it is less preferred than bisphosphonates. It is also used to ...
, are structurally distinct from tamoxifen and other triphenylethylenes.


History

In the late 1950s, pharmaceutical companies were actively researching a newly discovered class of anti-estrogen compounds in the hope of developing a morning-after contraceptive pill. Arthur L Walpole was a reproductive
endocrinologist Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...
who led such a team at the Alderley Park research laboratories of ICI Pharmaceuticals. It was there in 1962 that chemist Dora Richardson first synthesized tamoxifen, back then known as ICI-46,474, when she was looking to create triphenylethylene derivatives for the contraceptive pill project that her team was researching. This compound was originally created to work as an estrogen inhibitor, but instead was found to stimulate ovulation in participants of the drug testing trial. Walpole and his colleagues filed a UK patent covering this compound in 1962, but patent protection on this compound was repeatedly denied in the US until the 1980s. Tamoxifen did eventually receive marketing approval as a fertility treatment, but the class of compounds never proved useful in human contraception. A link between estrogen and breast cancer had been known for many years, but cancer treatments were not a corporate priority at the time, and Walpole's personal interests were important in keeping support for the compound alive in the face of this and the lack of patent protection. It was only when Walpole threatened to leave his position that corporate decided to allow trials and testing for Tamoxifen as a drug that could be used to treat breast cancer. Without Walpole's effort towards defending the work that his team had done in discovering a possibly revolutionary source for breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen could have become a discarded or under-researched idea. Walpole's team consisted of Dora Richardson and G.A. Snow, who worked on the chemistry portion of the project, along with G.E. Paget and J.K. Walley, who focused primarily on the biological side. Tamoxifen is one of three drugs in an anti-angiogenetic protocol developed by Dr. Judah Folkman, a researcher at Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Folkman discovered in the 1970s that angiogenesis – the growth of new blood vessels – plays a significant role in the development of cancer. Since his discovery, an entirely new field of cancer research has developed. Clinical trials on
angiogenesis inhibitor An angiogenesis inhibitor is a substance that inhibits the growth of new blood vessels ( angiogenesis). Some angiogenesis inhibitors are endogenous and a normal part of the body's control and others are obtained exogenously through pharmaceutical ...
s have been underway since 1992 using many different drugs. The Harvard researchers developed a specific protocol for a golden retriever named Navy who was cancer-free after receiving the prescribed cocktail of
celecoxib Celecoxib, sold under the brand name Celebrex among others, is a COX-2 inhibitor and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is used to treat the pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis, acute pain in adults, rheumatoid arthritis, ankyl ...
, doxycycline, and tamoxifen – the treatment subsequently became known as the Navy Protocol. Furthermore, tamoxifen treatment alone has been shown to have anti-angiogenetic effects in animal models of cancer which appear to be, at least in part, independent of tamoxifen's ER antagonist properties. Other antiestrogens, such as
ethamoxytriphetol Ethamoxytriphetol (developmental code name MER-25) is a synthetic nonsteroidal antiestrogen that was studied clinically in the late 1950s and early 1960s but was never marketed. MER-25 was first reported in 1958, and was the first antiestrogen t ...
(MER-25) and
clomifene Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course ...
(MRL-41), were assessed for treatment of breast cancer and found to be effective before tamoxifen, but were plagued with
toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
issues. The first clinical study of tamoxifen took place at the Christie Hospital in 1971, and showed a convincing effect in advanced breast cancer, but nevertheless ICI's development programme came close to termination when it was reviewed in 1972. In an unpublished article from the early days of the trial, Dora Richardson documented her team's excitement about tamoxifen's effects in counteracting infertility problems and the early positive effects found in breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, this work was not well received by everyone, as the team was supposed to be looking for a contraceptive pill. Tamoxifen's further development may have been bolstered by a second clinical study by Harold W.C. Ward at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is a major, 1,215 bed, tertiary NHS and military hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct ...
. Ward's study showed a more definitive response to the drug at a higher dosage. Walpole also may have helped to convince the company to market tamoxifen for late stage breast cancer in 1973. He was also instrumental in funding
V. Craig Jordan Virgil Craig Jordan, , is a scientist with American and British citizenship specializing in drugs for breast cancer treatment and prevention. Currently, he is Professor of Breast Medical Oncology, and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Oncology a ...
to work on tamoxifen. In 1972, ICI Pharmaceuticals Division abandoned development of tamoxifen for financial reasons. The drug was subsequently reinvented from a failed contraceptive, to become tamoxifen, the gold standard for the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer and the pioneering medicine for chemprevention for high risk women. Two books, ''Estrogen Action, Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators and Women's Health'' (Imperial College Press 2013) and ''Tamoxifen Pioneering Medicine in Breast Cancer'' (Springer 2013) tell this story. 1980 saw the publication of the first trial to show that tamoxifen given in addition to chemotherapy improved survival for patients with early breast cancer. In advanced disease, tamoxifen is now only recognized as effective in ER+ patients, but the early trials did not select ER+ patients, and by the mid-1980s the clinical trial picture was not showing a major advantage for tamoxifen. Nevertheless, tamoxifen had a relatively mild side-effect profile, and a number of large trials continued. The pharmacology of SERMs was discovered, defined, and deciphered during the 1980s A clinical strategy was described that led to the creation of SERMs as a group of multifunctional medicines aimed at the treatment or prevention of many conditions in postmenopausal women, e.g. osteoporosis and breast cancer. This story is told in: V. Craig Jordan, ed. 2013. "Estrogen Action, Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators and Women's Health" Imperial College Press, Singapore. The early sales of tamoxifen in both the UK and in the U.S. far exceeded ICI's original estimate, but despite this, at the annual portfolio review ICI's board members still asserted that "there was no market for cancer", leaving the drug's marketing success to rely on its clinical results and clinicians and scientists interests in it. Shortly after, Dora Richardson published a history of Tamoxifen that, unusually for that type of paper, included personal accounts and letters from patients who attributed their healing to the drug. It is by giving voice to cancer patients using Tamoxifen, and so helping to push it forward, by justifying it both morally and scientifically to corporations. It was not until 1998 that the meta-analysis of the Oxford-based Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group showed definitively that tamoxifen was effective for early breast cancer.


Society and culture


Brand names

Tamoxifen is marketed under the brand names Nolvadex and Soltamox, and a variety of other brand names throughout the world.


Economics

Global sales of tamoxifen in 2001 were approximately $1.02 billion. Since the expiration of the patent in 2002, it is widely available as a generic drug around the world. , tamoxifen was the world's largest selling hormonal drug for the treatment of breast cancer.


Research

In McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) tamoxifen has been used to treat premature puberty and the consequences of premature puberty. Tamoxifen has been seen to decrease rapid bone maturation which is the result of excessive estrogen and alter predicted adult height (PAH). The same effects have also been seen in short pubertal boys. However, one ''in vitro'' study in 2007 and later an ''in vivo'' study in 2008 have shown that tamoxifen induces apoptosis in growth plate chondrocytes, reduces serum
insulin-like growth factor 1 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults. IGF-1 is a protein that in humans ...
(IGF-1) levels and causes persistent retardation of longitudinal and cortical radial bone growth in young male rats, leading the researchers to express concern giving tamoxifen to growing individuals. Tamoxifen has been studied in the treatment of the rare conditions of
retroperitoneal fibrosis Retroperitoneal fibrosis or Ormond's disease is a disease featuring the proliferation of fibrous tissue in the retroperitoneum, the compartment of the body containing the kidneys, aorta, renal tract, and various other structures. It may present wi ...
and
idiopathic sclerosing mesenteritis Idiopathic sclerosing mesenteritis (ISM) is a rare disease of the small intestine, characterized by chronic inflammation and eventual fibrosis of the mesentery. It has also been called mesenteric lipodystrophy, or retractile mesenteritis. Sign ...
. It has also been proposed as part of a treatment plan for
Riedel's thyroiditis Riedel's thyroiditis, is a chronic form of thyroiditis. It is now believed that Riedel's thyroiditis is one manifestation of a systemic disease that can affect many organ systems called IgG4-related disease. It is often a multi-organ disease affect ...
. Tamoxifen is used as a research tool to trigger tissue-specific gene expression in many conditional expression constructs in
genetically modified animal Genetically modified animals are animals that have been genetically modified for a variety of purposes including producing drugs, enhancing yields, increasing resistance to disease, etc. The vast majority of genetically modified animals are at th ...
s including a version of the
Cre-Lox recombination Cre-Lox recombination is a site-specific recombinase technology, used to carry out deletions, insertions, translocations and inversions at specific sites in the DNA of cells. It allows the DNA modification to be targeted to a specific cell type ...
technique. While widely used in transgenic research, the strong anabolic effect of Tamoxifen on bone might confound this approach, especially as it relates to bone-targeted constructs. Tamoxifen may be effective in the treatment of mania in people with
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. This is thought to be due to blockade of protein kinase C (PKC), an
enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...
that regulates
neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. ...
activity in the
brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...
. Researchers believe PKC is overactive during the mania in bipolar patients. ,
endoxifen Endoxifen, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N''-desmethyltamoxifen, is a nonsteroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) of the triphenylethylene group as well as a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. It is under development for the treatment ...
, a major active metabolite of tamoxifen with a 4-fold more potent PKC inhibition, was in phase III clinical trials for bipolar disorder.


References


Further reading

*


External links

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