[ PRINT ] [ Printing FAQ ] About OncoLink Editorial Board Sponsors Help See Today's OncoTip Usage Statistics Virtual Classroom Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute "Confronting Cancer Through Art" is an exhibition by people whose lives have been touched by cancer. This week we are featuring artwork by: Jacqueline Kniewasser Pontypool, Ontario Visit the Children's Art Gallery This week's artwork was donated by a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment for cancer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

OncoLink FAQ: Tamoxifen-induced Cancer? Last Revision Date: Sunday, 14-Feb-1999 13:54:29 EST Copyright © 1994-1999, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania This is a response to a question about the possibility of tamoxifen-induced cancer. Question: My sister has breast cancer. She has been on a drug called tamoxifen For about 2 years. She recently started bleeding as if having a period. She had a D&C and biopsy and the results showed she now has a tumor with some cancer cells in the uterus. I am curious about the medication: is it associated with cancer of the uterus? OncoLink's Medical Editorial Team responds: Dear OncoLink Reader, Thank you for your question. Tamoxifen is a medication that is commonly used to treat breast cancer. It functions by blocking the ability of estrogen to stimulate growth of breast cancer cells. Although tamoxifen functions as an anti-estrogen in breast tissue, in the tissue of the uterus (called the endometrium) tamoxifen may have pro-estrogenic properties and therefore stimulate the endometrium to grow. There is conflicting data as to whether or not tamoxifen can cause endometrial cancer. Some studies have shown that women who take tamoxifen have higher rates of endometrial cancer compared to those not on tamoxifen. However, other studies have suggested that tamoxifen has little or no impact on the development of endometrial cancer. Regardless, patients on tamoxifen should have yearly (or more frequent if advised by their gynecologist) pelvic examinations. Tamoxifen has also been associated with the development of benign endometrial polyps. Often these are diagnosed by endometrial biopsy and/or dilatation and curettage (D&C).

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