Tomoxifen Mono-Therapy for Breast Cancer in Elderly Women

Background: Tamoxifen is an estrogen antagonist used as neo-adjuvant drug for breast cancer treatment in women. Objective: To evaluate tamoxifen monotherapy on breast cancer for elderly women with estrogen positive, progesterone positive, and Her2/neu negative. Materials and methods: Seventeen breast cancer women were examined. The age range of the patients was between 73 and 87 years (mean ± SD: 79.2 ± 3.8 years). The patients were examined and diagnosed by a surgeon, and histopathologic examination. The patients included in the study were estrogen positive, progesterone positive, and Her2/neu negative. The patients were treated with tamoxifen monotherapy 20 mg/day orally during the two-year study. The size of the tumor were measured by ultrasonic examination for each patient. Five milliliters (mL) of blood samples were taken from the patients and analyzed for CA15-3. The clinical and ultrasonic examination as well as blood investigations were carried out every 3 months for two years, while only clinical examinations were continued every six months up to 5 years. Results: Treatment of breast cancer women by tamoxifen 20 mg/day gradually decreased serum CA15-3 significantly (p ≤ 0.01) every 3 months. After two years of treatment with tamoxifen, serum CA15-3 was within normal range. The size of the tumor was decreased significantly and gradually every 3 months. After two years the tumor was completely disappeared. Each parameter was compared with that parameter measured before 3 months. Lymph node positive patients were 11 out of 17 patients; however, after 21 months of tamoxifen treatment, all patients were lymph node negative. Conclusion: Tamoxifen monotherapy can be used for the treatment of women with breast cancer with estrogen +, progesterone + and Her2/neu–. The program can be applied for elderly breast cancer women or incompliance patients.