Two Cases of Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Associated with Tamoxifen Use / 대한산부인과학회잡지

ABSTRACT

Tamoxifen citrate is a non-steroidal agent that has demonstrated estrogen agonist and antagonist properties and has found successful application for all stages, as adjuvant therapy, in the treatment of primary breast cancer. The drug was originally introduced for the treatment of high risk postmenopausal women or for postmenopausal patients with advanced disease. Since then, it was reported that long term treatment schedules could provide maximal benefit in preventing recurrences. Recent analyses of clinical trials have demonstrated an increase of disease-free survival in breast cancer among patients with positive estrogen receptor tumor. Tamoxifen is now recommended for chemoprevention of breast cancer in healthy high risk women. An agonist estrogenic effect upon the endometrium, the so called "paradoxical" effect, is suggested when proliferative changes, such as endometrial hyperplasia, adenocarcinoma, polyps. We report a case of endometrial cancer which developed in premenopausal patients with breast cancer under tamoxifen therapy.