
Originally Posted by
DoctaBig
Back before the site lost a bunch of old posts i wrote a long dissertation on the cancer causing effects of tamoxifen. I would love to rewrite it except for i definatly do not have that kind of energy at this point. So, i'll give ya the short answer why tamoxifen DOES cause CANCER.
Keep in mind that there is much more in play here than what i mention, this just scratches the surface:
Nolva is a SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator). Basically this means that tamox has multiple types of action i.e. agonistic and antagonistic. The type of action depends on what "kind" of estrogen receptor it is binding to. There are a few of different "kinds" of estrogen receptors; each with a specific type of responce. One such receptor is in breast tissue, which is one location where tamox has antagonistic (blocking) properties, hence its use for breast cancer. Other area's of the body also have estrogen receptors such as: cardiovasuclar tissue, endometrial tissue, "bone", and many others. Nolva has different effects in each of these tissues...some good, some bad...One notable -bad- effect is the higher incidence in women of endometrial cancer where tamoxifen has an agonistic action. YES...the nolva caused the cancer in these women.
The contraversy comes into play because the level of understanding of estrogenic receptors in men is very small. It is probable that there are estrogenic receptors in men that if fired too often could lead to cancer much the same as endometrial cancer in women.