Tamoxifen and oxidative stress: an overlooked connection

Nermin S Ahmed; Marek Samec; Alena Liskova; Peter Kubatka; Luciano Saso

doi:10.1007/s12672-021-00411-y

Tamoxifen and oxidative stress: an overlooked connection

Discov Oncol. 2021 May 27;12(1):17. doi: 10.1007/s12672-021-00411-y.

Authors

Nermin S Ahmed¹, Marek Samec², Alena Liskova², Peter Kubatka³, Luciano Saso⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo, 11835, Egypt. nermin.salah@guc.edu.eg.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601, Martin, Slovakia.
³ Department of Medical Biology, Department of Experimental Carcinogenesis (Biomedical Center Martin, Division of Oncology), Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Malá Hora 4, 03601, Martin, Slovak Republic.
⁴ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer", Sapienza University, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Tamoxifen is the gold standard drug for the treatment of breast cancer in pre and post-menopausal women. Its journey from a failing contraceptive to a blockbuster is an example of pharmaceutical innovation challenges. Tamoxifen has a wide range of pharmacological activities; a drug that was initially thought to work via a simple Estrogen receptor (ER) mechanism was proven to mediate its activity through several non-ER mechanisms. Here in we review the previous literature describing ER and non-ER targets of tamoxifen, we highlighted the overlooked connection between tamoxifen, tamoxifen apoptotic effects and oxidative stress.

Keywords: Apoptosis; ER; Oxidative stress; Resistance; Tamoxifen.

Publication types

Review