HEALTH & SCIENCE

Tamoxifen: 25-year success story looking for a sequel

The silver anniversary of the introduction of the breast cancer treatment prompted a look at the hormonal therapy's track record.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. June 16, 2003.

Washington -- When tamoxifen was first introduced, it was a pioneering drug and, like many of the women who took the medication, it has been a survivor.

"When tamoxifen came into widespread clinical use in the late 1970s, it was really at that time what we could consider a wonder drug," said Len Lichtenfeld, MD, American Cancer Society's deputy chief medical officer.

In the 25 years since, it has played an important role in cancer therapy, not only as a weapon in physicians' breast cancer arsenal, but also by expanding the range of options available to women and by focusing attention on other possible treatments that build on its success.

Before tamoxifen made its debut, it was chemotherapy that was expected to save the day in breast cancer treatment, noted Craig Jordan, PhD, DSc, director of Northwestern University's breast cancer research program.

Chemotherapy was elbowed aside to make room for another category of breast cancer treatment when tamoxifen's importance as an anti-estrogen became apparent. The discovery prompted a "revolution in targeted therapy," said Dr. Jordan during a May 28 teleconference. The conference was hosted by Vital Options, a nonprofit cancer organization and funded by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures the drug, under the brand name Nolvadex.

"Long-term therapy with tamoxifen has resulted in 400,000 [more] women being alive today," said Dr. Jordan, who was involved in the earliest stages of the drug's development.

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