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Treatment Options > Chemotherapy > OncoLink Rx

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex®)

Carolyn Vachani, MSN, RN, AOCN
The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: January 6, 2006

Tamoxifen is an antiestrogen or estrogen blocker that works by blocking estrogen receptors in breast tissue. . While estrogen may not actually cause breast cancer, it is a necessary hormone for the cancer cells to grow in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. With estrogen blocked, the cancer cells that feed off estrogen may not be able to survive.

Facts about tamoxifen

• Tamoxifen is the only hormonal therapy approved for breast cancer prevention (prophylaxis).
• Tamoxifen is approved for adjuvant (treatment after surgery) and metastatic treatment of breast cancer.
• Tamoxifen is approved and recommended for some women who have been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to prevent a second breast cancer.

How to take tamoxifen

• By mouth
• Usual dose is 20mg daily