Tamoxifen for the treatment of malignancies other than breast and endometrial carcinoma.
Tamoxifen has been used most commonly to treat breast and endometrial cancer, two malignancies in which the antiestrogenic properties of tamoxifen have substantial therapeutic benefit. However, tamoxifen has been used in the treatment of other cancers as well, some in which an antiestrogen may be effective, but others in which estrogen receptor is not expressed. In estrogen receptor-negative cancers, tamoxifen has been shown to have therapeutic activity at doses approximately fourfold to eightfold above those used for estrogen receptor inhibition. It is thought that the primary mechanism of tamoxifen in estrogen-negative tumors is inhibition of protein kinase C. Clinical trials of tamoxifen in ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, desmoid tumors, malignant glioma, pancreatic carcinoma, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma are reviewed.
Gelmann
E P
EP
Department of Medicine and Cell Biology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20007, USA.
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000188:drug therapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D013629:Tamoxifen