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Tamoxifen pp 69–84Cite as

Adjuvant Therapy: The Breakthrough

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Part of the book series: Milestones in Drug Therapy ((MDT))

Abstract

The finding that long-term tamoxifen therapy of rats previously treated with a chemical carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) had a suppression of mammary tumorigenesis as long as treatment was continued, created a new strategy to save lives. These pivotal laboratory studies changed clinical practice. The initiation of numerous international randomized clinical trials of extended adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for patients with ER-positive tumors demonstrated longer was better to save lives. Recurrences were controlled by tamoxifen and mortality decreased by at least 30 %. Current indications are that 10 years of adjuvant tamoxifen is superior to 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen.

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  1. Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Philipp Y. Maximov, Russell E. McDaniel & V. Craig Jordan

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  1. Philipp Y. Maximov
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  2. Russell E. McDaniel
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  3. V. Craig Jordan
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Maximov, P.Y., McDaniel, R.E., Jordan, V.C. (2013). Adjuvant Therapy: The Breakthrough. In: Tamoxifen. Milestones in Drug Therapy. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0664-0_4

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