Direct effects of tamoxifen on growth hormone secretion by pituitary cells in vitro.

There is now strong evidence to suggest that insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) plays an important role in breast cancer proliferation. Recently we observed that tamoxifen-treated stage I breast cancer patients have serum IGF-I levels significantly lower than placebo-treated patients. Since IGF-I is growth hormone (GH) dependent, we have tested the hypothesis that tamoxifen alters serum IGF-I levels through direct inhibition of GH secretion. Immature lamb pituitary cultures were examined for acute (3 h) or chronic (1-6 day) effects of the drug, using doses (0.1-10 mumol/l) based on known steady state levels in patients on tamoxifen therapy (0.31-3.1 mumol/l). Tamoxifen had a direct, dose-related, inhibitory effect on GH release from pituitary somatotropes, during acute as well as chronic treatment. The 10 mumol/l dose consistently decreased both basal and growth hormone releasing factor stimulated GH release. These in vitro data are consistent with our hypothesis that tamoxifen suppresses serum IGF-I levels by acting at the pituitary to inhibit GH release.