Mc. Nguyen et al., Relationships between tamoxifen use, liver fat and body fat distribution in women with breast cancer, INT J OBES, 25(2), 2001, pp. 296-298
Tamoxifen is a nonsteroidal anti-estrogenic drug used for adjuvant treatmen
t of breast cancer and recently as a chemo-preventative agent for breast ca
ncer and, on an investigational basis, for other cancers. To date there are
case reports of hypertriglyceridemia and fatty liver disease in tamoxifen
users. Fatty liver is associated with visceral obesity and other components
of the metabolic syndrome. Here we evaluated steatosis and adipose tissue
distribution by CT scan in a cross-sectional study of 32 women on tamoxifen
and 39 control women. Tamoxifen users had more visceral adipose tissue (VA
T) and more liver fat than controls. This is the first study to demonstrate
that fatty liver and intra-abdominal fat accumulation are common in breast
cancer patients receiving tamoxifen. Prospective studies of tamoxifen shou
ld monitor metabolic changes in obese women with or without breast cancer.