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Background: Tamoxifen has been shown to promote the growth of human endometrial tumors implanted in athymic mice, and it has been associated with a twofold to threefold increase in endometrial cancer. Toremifene, a chlorinated derivative of tamoxifen, and ICI 182,780, a pure antiestrogen, are two new antiestrogens being developed for the treatment of breast cancer. The effects of these drugs on endometrial cancer are currently unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of toremifene and ICI 182,780 on the growth of human endometrial cancer in athymic mice., Methods: Athymic, ovariectomized mice were implanted with human endometrial tumors and treated with estrogen, tamoxifen, or the new antiestrogens., Results: The effects of tamoxifen and toremifene on the growth of either tamoxifen-stimulated or tamoxifen-naive endometrial tumors in athymic mice were not substantially different. ICI 182,780 inhibited the growth of tamoxifen-stimulated endometrial cancer, in both the presence and the absence of estrogen., Conclusions: Toremifene and tamoxifen produce identical effects in our endometrial cancer models. Therefore, it is possible that toremifene, like tamoxifen, may be associated with an increased incidence of endometrial cancer. In contrast, ICI 182,780 inhibited tamoxifen-stimulated endometrial cancer, both in the presence and in the absence of estrogen, suggesting that this drug may be safe with regard to the endometrium, even if it is used following tamoxifen, and that it may not result in an increased incidence of endometrial cancer. Indeed, it is even possible that ICI 182,780 may prove useful as an adjuvant agent in early stage endometrial cancer.

It is clear that growth of the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line is stimulated by estrogen and when estrogen is removed, growth slows. We have observed a tumor derived from MCF-7 cells that grows in athymic mice in the absence of estrogen stimulation. We hypothesized that a mutation in the estrogen receptor (ER) could be responsible for this constitutive growth. Using single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA sequencing analysis, we have identified an ER containing a point mutation at position 415 (gly to val) within the hormone binding domain. The functional activity of this mutant was assessed in vitro and in vivo. Using transient transfection into an ER negative breast cancer cell with an ERE luciferase reporter gene, we found that both the wild-type and mutant receptors have similar efficacy. Additionally, the estrogenic responses were blocked by antiestrogens in a concentration related manner. We also found that tumors with the mutant receptor show similar growth response in athymic mice as wild-type: stimulation with estradiol and inhibition with antiestrogens. We conclude that the point mutation at position 415 (gly to val) is not responsible for constitutive growth.

Tamoxifen is the most widely prescribed endocrine therapy for breast cancer, with more than 7.5 million woman-years of clinical experience. Tamoxifen has both antiestrogenic and estrogenic activity. The antiestrogenic activity accounts for its efficacy against breast cancer, while the estrogenic activity is considered to be associated with positive effects on bone mineral density and lipid profiles and a proliferative effect on the endometrium in some women. Tamoxifen has a good tolerability profile and has demonstrated benefits for breast cancer patients in prolonging overall and disease-free survival and reducing the incidence of contralateral breast cancer. These known benefits of tamoxifen far outweigh the risk of endometrial cancer in tamoxifen-treated patients with breast cancer.

The estrogen receptor (ER) contains two transcriptional activation domains: AF-1 and AF-2. AF-2 is dependent on a highly species-conserved region of the ER. It has been shown that site-directed point mutations of conserved hydrophobic amino acids within this region reduce estrogen-dependent transcriptional activation. In addition, when these mutated ERs are transfected into HeLa cells, both tamoxifen and ICI 164,384 become strong agonists. The implication is that mutations in this region could account for the tamoxifen-stimulated tumors seen clinically. We performed single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis spanning the entire ER along with DNA sequencing of the AF-2 region of the ER isolated from two different tamoxifen-stimulated breast cancers, MCF-7/TAM and MCF-7/MT2, and a tamoxifen-stimulated endometrial cancer, EnCa 101. In addition, a tamoxifen-stimulated endometrial carcinoma cell line, the Ishikawa cell line, was also studied. There were no mutations found by SSCP analysis and sequencing of all four AF-2 regions also revealed no mutations. Mutations within the AF-2 region of the human ER do not appear to account for the growth of human breast and endometrial carcinomas that are used as reproducible laboratory models of tamoxifen-stimulated growth observed clinically.