[Breast cancer--tamoxifen and tamoxifen analogues for the treatment of breast cancer].

Tamoxifen (20-40 mg/day) has been widely used for the treatment of breast cancer and is recognized as a useful antiestrogen. A 40 mg/day dose of toremifene showed comparable efficacy, safety and usefulness to a 20 mg/day dose of tamoxifen in the double-blind comparative study with tamoxifen. Furthermore, high-dose toremifene (120 mg/day) was effective on the tamoxifen-failed breast cancer patients. Although droloxifene (3-hydroxytamoxifen) showed efficacy and safety in phase I and phase II studies, this trial has regretably been ineffective in Japan. In phase I and early phase II trials in Japan, the safety and efficacy of TAT-59 was demonstrated and a 20 mg/day dose was moderate. Tamoxifen analogues including their metabolites are expected to act effectively on tamoxifen-resistant, low estrogen receptor levels or estrogen receptor-negative tumors by mechanisms of action different from tamoxifen.