Tamoxifen versus placebo in the treatment of Peyronie's disease

Purpose: We evaluated the effects of oral tamoxifen and placebo in patients with Peyronie's disease. Materials and Methods: We selected 25 patients with Peyronie's disease who did not have calcified plaque for treatment in the andrology outpatient cli nic. A medical history was obtained, and physical examination, penile x-ray , penile ultrasound and pharmacologically induced erection with prostagland in El were performed. Patients were randomly divided into group 1-those who received 20 mg. tamoxifen twice daily for 3 months and group 2-those who r eceived placebo for the same period. The same evaluations were done 4 month s later and results were compared. Qualitative (chi-square test) and quanti tative (Student's t test) results were analyzed using the Yates correction factor with p <0.05 considered significant. Results: Pain subsided in 66.6 and 75% of the patients treated with tamoxif en and placebo, respectively (p >0.05). In groups 1 and 2 a reduction in th e penile deformity was noticed by 46.1 and 41.7% of the patients (p >0.05), and a decrease in plaque size was noticed by 30.7 and 25%, respectively. O n the other hand, objective measurements did not reveal any difference in p laque area or curvature angle. Conclusions: This study did not show significant improvement in pain, curva ture or plaque size in patients with Peyronie's disease who were treated wi th tamoxifen compared with those treated with placebo.