These drugs bare a chemical resemblance to the hormone estrogen. Many breast cancers are "estrogen-dependent," meaning that they depend on estrogen in order to survive and reproduce. Because SERMs mimic estrogen, they are able to bind to estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells. By binding to these receptors, they block estrogen from breast cancer cells, thereby starving the cancer cells. Tamoxifen is currently the most commonly prescribed SERM. Tamoxifen is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help treat both early and advanced stages of breast cancer. Recently, tamoxifen also received FDA approval for use in post-menopausal women at high risk of breast cancer after a large clinical trial showed that tamoxifen could reduce the risk of breast cancer by 49%. The drug Fareston (generic name, toremifene) is another SERM used to treat advanced breast cancer.
Another SERM, Evista (generic name, raloxifene) is used to treat osteoporosis, a degenerative bone disease. In clinical trials, raloxifene was shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer in high-risk post-menopausal women by 44 to 71 percent.
Researchers are also investigating another SERM called arzoxifene for the treatment of breast cancer. Arzoxifene is made by the same company as raloxifene (Eli Lilly and Company) and is described to be a next-generation SERM. The drug is currently in Phase III clinical trials.
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