Short Burst Tamoxifen Aids Fertility Among Breast Cancer Patients Short-term use of tamoxifen for ovarian stimulation and embryo transfer or cryopreservation appears to be a feasible method of fertility preservation among breast cancer patients. Dr Kutluk Oktay and colleagues at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, United States, undertook this study investigating the role of tamoxifen and fertility. They found that among 12 breast cancer survivors, stimulating the ovaries with a short, carefully timed course of tamoxifen boosted the number of retrievable mature oocytes. One woman in their study had two fresh embryos transferred and has given birth to twins, they report. "Sometimes the best ideas are the obvious ones and tamoxifen seemed the obvious choice of drug to test, although, to my knowledge, no one has tried it before in breast cancer patients," Dr Oktay said in a comment on the study. "We hypothesised that tamoxifen stimulation would result in higher numbers of embryos compared with natural cycle in vitro fertilization (IVF), while theoretically shielding breast cancer cells against oestrogen." The clinicians point out that women of reproductive age usually have a combination chemotherapy with adverse effects on reproduction. "Even those who remain fertile or don't have chemotherapy face the problem of needing a recurrence-free period of perhaps two to five years before trying to conceive," Dr Oktay adds. The women in the study took 40-60 mg tamoxifen for approximately seven days on days two to three of their menstrual cycle for a total of 15 treated cycles. These patients produced a greater number of mature oocytes (1.6) compared with a retrospective group of five breast cancer patients who had undergone nine cycles of natural cycle IVF (0.7), and embryos (1.6 compared with 0.6). Two women in the tamoxifen group, and two in the control group conceived. After a mean follow up of around 15 months, none of the study patients has had a recurrence of cancer. [01/09/2003; Doctor's Guide] Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.