BMJ  2005;330 (23 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7497.0-b

Tamoxifen may cause steatohepatitis in overweight women

Tamoxifen, used to prevent recurrence of breast cancer, is associated with a doubled risk of developing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in overweight women. However, in their prospective, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of 5408 women, Bruno and colleagues (p 932) found no clinical, biochemical, ultrasonographic, or histological signs suggestive of progression to cirrhosis in the affected women after a median follow-up of 8.7 years. The authors also found that unexplained multiple elevations of alanine aminotransferase 1.5 times or more the upper normal limit were associated with steatohepatitis, making histological examination unnecessary for diagnosis.

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Relevant Article

Incidence and risk factors for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: prospective study of 5408 women enrolled in Italian tamoxifen chemoprevention trial

Savino Bruno, Patrick Maisonneuve, Paola Castellana, Nicole Rotmensz, Sonia Rossi, Marco Maggioni, Marcello Persico, Alberto Colombo, Franco Monasterolo, Donata Casadei-Giunchi, Franco Desiderio, Tommaso Stroffolini, Virgilio Sacchini, Andrea Decensi, Umberto Veronesi for the Italian Tamoxifen Study Group
BMJ 2005 330: 932. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]