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Effect of long‐term tamoxifen therapy on cancellous bone remodeling and structure in women with breast cancer
Author(s) -
Wright C.D.P.,
Garrahan N.J.,
Stanton M.,
Gazet J.C.,
Mansell R.E.,
Compston J.E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of bone and mineral research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.882
H-Index - 241
eISSN - 1523-4681
pISSN - 0884-0431
DOI - 10.1002/jbmr.5650090204
Subject(s) - tamoxifen , bone remodeling , osteoid , cancellous bone , breast cancer , medicine , bone resorption , endocrinology , urology , cancer , anatomy
The effects of long‐term tamoxifen therapy on bone remodeling were studied in 41 women with breast cancer, 22 treated with tamoxifen for a minimum of 15 months (mean 33) and 19 untreated. Transiliac crest bone biopsies were obtained and a comprehensive histomorphometric analysis performed using a semiautomatic image analysis system. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in bone area, osteoid perimeter and area, or osteoid width. Mineral appositional rate, adjusted appositional rate, and mineralization lag time were also similar in the two groups; however, tissue‐based bone formation rate was significantly lower in the tamoxifen‐treated women ( p = 0.05) and the remodeling period significantly longer ( p < 0.05). Mean and maximum resorption cavity depth and cavity area were significantly reduced in the tamoxifen‐treated patients compared to the untreated patients ( p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.03, respectively). Calculated and directly measured indices of cancellous bone structure were similar in the two groups, although the data indicated a trend toward greater connectedness in the tamoxifen‐treated group. These data indicate that tamoxifen does not exert an antiestrogenic effect on bone remodeling in the human and are consistent with a weak estrogenic effect.