Effects of Tamoxifen on Spinal Bone Density in Women With Breast Cancer

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Abstract
Bone densitometry (L2-L4) was performed on 10 postmenopausal women with breast cancer after 0, 6, and 12 months of tamoxifen treatment; the results were compared with data from 10 normal controls. The patients and controls differed significantly at 6 (P<.05) and 12 (P<.003) months. The tamoxifen group showed a nonsignificant mean gain in bone mineral density after 6 and 12 months of treatment (+0.024 ± 0.014 and +0.022 ± 0.018 g/cm2, respectively), whereas the controls showed a nonsignificant mean loss of bone mass at 6 months (−0.012 ± 0.018 g/cm2 and a statistically significant loss of bone density after 12 months (−0.024 ± 0.01 g/cm2). These preliminary data suggest that tamoxifen use is associated with preservation of bone mass during the first year of treatment. [J Natl Cancer Inst 81: 1086–1088, 1989]