Tamoxifen for Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer

Hi,

My wife is of 35 yrs old. She had a grade II Invasive Ductal cancer in her left breast. The size of the malignant lesion  was at 0.9 cm. The sentinel lymph node malignancy status was negative. The cancer tissue was ER negative and PR positive at a score of +1. The HER-2 score was at +1.

After the surgery, and according to the oncologist treatment plan, a Radio Therapy course of 16 sessions was taken. The chemotherapy was not recommended, and then Tamoxifen Novaldex was prescribed and it will be taken for 5 yrs.

According to some article I read at Cancer.gov, Tamoxifen is effective only for ER positive breast cancer.

My question is: are we on the right track? Should we continue with Tamoxifen? Are Tamoxifen benefits outweigh its side effects.

Thanks and regards,
Muntaser

[Cleveland Clinic]

Dear Muntaser:  Tamoxifen is generally used when either estrogone or progesterone receptors (or both) are positive.  You might discuss your questions with your wife’s oncologist who can explain specifically why this has been prescribed in her case and help you then evaluate risks versus benefits of tamoxifen. You also may want to discuss the pros and cons of chemotherapy.