title: Assessment of response to tamoxifen among Iraqi patients with advanced breast cancer.
abstract: Eighty-eight women presenting with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer were treated with tamoxifen alone. Estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR) were immunocytochemically analysed in mammary tumour cells obtained by fine needle sampling from 73 patients. Of the breast carcinomas, 34.2% were ER+/PR+ and 43.8% were ER-/PR-. The ER+ content increased with age in postmenopausal women. After tamoxifen treatment objective remission occurred in 39.7% of the women. The overall response rate was 53.3% in the ER+/PR- group and 73.1% in the ER+/PR+ group. However, the response elicited in a case of the ER-/PR- phenotype justified the randomized use of tamoxifen among patients in Iraq where the necessary requirements for hormone receptor assessment are almost unavailable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: al-Alwan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: al-Kubaisy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: al-Rawaq
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007493:Iraq; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D012074:Remission Induction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D013629:Tamoxifen