The Effect of Tamoxifen in the Treatment of Idiopathic Gynecomastia

Background and Gynecomastia -benign proliferation of male breast glandular tissue- occurs due to increased ratio of estrogen to androgen activity. Çonsidering non-existence of studies of effects of Tamoxifen on gynecomastia in Ïran, and also fewness of such studies in other countries, this study was conducted to determine the effect of Tamoxifen in the treatment of gynecomastia. Ïn this quasi-experimental study, patients who had idiopathic gynecomastia, after obtaining consent, were treated with Tamoxifen (10-20 mg/day) for 6 months. Ât baseline and after starting treatment each month, criteria such as pain, tenderness and breast size were investigated and recorded. Çriteria of response to treatment were decreased breast size and tenderness. The data analysis was done by Wilcoxon, Friedman, McNemar and Repeated measurements tests. 30 patients entered the study, at baseline 24 patients had tenderness, but in the third and also the sixth month of treatment this number decreased to 2 patients (p<0.05). Ïn the third month, the mean decrease in breast size compared to baseline was 12.869 ± 9.79 mm (p<0.05) and in the sixth month 24.70 ± 19.71 mm (p<0.05). The size also had a significant decrease during treatment (p<0.05).Çonclusion: Based on the results of this study, Tamoxifen is an effective medication for gynecomastia and considering the amount of reduction in breast size and tenderness, this medication is suggested for treatment of gynecoastia.