TARGETED ANTIESTROGENS TO TREAT AND PREVENT DISEASES IN WOMEN

The estrogen receptor has been successfully targeted with the anti-est rogen tamoxifen to treat all stages of breast cancer. Because tamoxife n is a partial agonist, it exhibits target-site specificity: it acts a s an anti-estrogen in the breast to inhibit tumor growth, while exhibi ting estrogenic effects on bones and lipid metabolism. Therefore, tamo xifen has the added benefit of maintaining bone density and reducing t he risk of myocardial infarction in postmenopausal women. However, und esirable side effects of tamoxifen preclude its use as a hormone repla cement therapy for otherwise healthy women. New anti-estrogens are cur rently being developed that may prevent osteoporosis, breast and endom etrial cancer, and reduce the risk of myocardial infarction.