The synthetic drug tamoxifen has been used to treat women who have had breast ca

Question

The synthetic drug tamoxifen has been used to treat women who have had breast cancer, in order to reduce the growth rate of such tumors which is accelerated by the hormone estrogen. It appears that tamoxifen acts as an estrogen receptor antagonist in tumor cells. However, tamoxifen also reduces the prevalence of osteoporosis, in which it appears to act as an estrogen receptor agonist in bone cells. In three sentences or less, and it terms of receptor properties, give the simplest plausible hypothesis to explain this apparent contradiction.

Explanation / Answer

The synthetic drug tamoxifen, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). Different tissues have different degrees of sensitivity to this class of drug. Thus, the action of tamoxifen as an estrogen receptor agonist (in bone cells) and an estrogen receptor antagonist (in cancer cells) depends on the tissue in question as it is a partial agonist.

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