S. Riestra et al., TAMOXIFEN DOES NOT IMPROVE SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA, Journal of clinical gastroenterology, 26(3), 1998, pp. 200-203
To discover whether tamoxifen is able to extend the survival of patien
ts with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, we included 80 patients wit
h cirrhosis and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in a multicenter, do
uble-blind, placebo-controlled trial in order to analyze the influence
of treatment with tamoxifen on survival. The patients were randomized
to receive tamoxifen, 40 mg/day (group 1), or placebo (group 2). Both
groups were similar in age, sex, etiology of cirrhosis, biochemical,
hematologic and hormonal parameters, morphology of the tumor (nodular
vs multinodular or massive), Child-Pugh's score, and Okuda's stage. Th
e 1-year survival rate was similar in both groups (30% in group 1 vs 3
7.8% in group 2 p = 0.31). Tamoxifen treatment was well tolerated by t
he patients. We conclude that tamoxifen does not extend the survival o
f patients with cirrhosis and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.