A study of the effect of tamoxifen on serum lipoprotein profiles in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with breast carcinoma and associated risk of cardiovascular disease.

ABSTRACT

To examine the effect of tamoxifen on serum lipoprotein profiles of premenopausal and postmenopausal patients of breast carcinoma (without and with cardiovascular disease) we performed a short term evaluation of serum lipoprotein profiles of 38 pre and 42 post menopausal subjects of breast carcinoma (without and with cardiovascular disease) at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of tamoxifen therapy. The serum lipoprotein profiles of premenopausal patients of breast carcinoma, both without and with cardiovascular disease, showed no significant variation, after 3 and 6 months of tamoxifen treatment than the corresponding baseline values of premenopausal subjects. However, in postmenopausal subjects of breast carcinoma (both without and with cardiovascular disease), serum TC, Apo-B, and Lp (a) were significantly decreased and serum TG, HDL and Apo A1 were significantly elevated, after 3 and 6 months of tamoxifen treatment, than the corresponding baseline values of postmenopausal subjects. Also, the comparison of the results of the present study for pre and postmenopausal patients of breast cancer revealed that the administration of tamoxifen, as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer, is estrogenic and beneficial for postmenopausal patients of breast carcinoma (both without and with the risk of cardiovascular disease) as the drug minimises the risk of cardivascular disease by bringing significant improvement in serum lipoprotein profiles of the patients. But the drug fails to bring any significant beneficial effect on serum lipoproteins of hyperiipoproteinemic patients of breast cancer.