ask your pharmacist

What is tamoxifen?

In most cases, doctors recommend tamoxifen in combination with other cancer therapies, such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. In studies, 10 to 30 percent more people who took the drug were cancer-free 10 years later, than people who didn't take it.

Women who are at a high risk of breast cancer may take tamoxifen to lower their chances of developing breast cancer. One study showed that tamoxifen reduced the chance of getting breast cancer by 45 percent. The long-term benefits of tamoxifen aren't known.

For treating breast cancer, the usual dose of tamoxifen is 20 to 40 mg per day. Most people take it for five years. For preventing breast cancer, the dose is 20 mg per day. You can take tamoxifen with or without food.

Sources:
The Johns Hopkins Complete Home Encyclopedia of Drugs. Medletter Associates Inc., 1998.
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, 2006.
Nolvadex Product Information. Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, 2006.
Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. Appleton & Lange, 1999.

This answer prepared 5/21/2000.
This information updated 12/01/2006.