Abstract 2029: A high ratio of tamoxifen metabolite E to tamoxifen is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrences in premenopausal women
Authors: Johänning Janina , Eccles Diana M. , Eccles Bryony , Eichelbaum Michel , Schwab Matthias , Brauch Hiltrud , Mürdter Thomas , Schroth Werner 
Published: July 2016

Tamoxifen (Tam), a standard therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, is excessively metabolized mainly by enzymes of the CYP450 family to anti-estrogenic and estrogenic compounds. Whereas in breast cancer cells the anti-estrogenic metabolites endoxifen and 4-hydroxy-Tam inhibit the ER, Tam bisphenol (Bis) and both isomers (E)- and (Z)- of metabolite E (Met E) show full estrogenic properties, with (E)-Met E being the most potent ER agonist. Contrary to known clinical effects of ER antagonists, the influence of Tam Bis, (E)-, and (Z)-Met E on treatment outcome is not thoroughly explored. Therefore we analyzed whether interindividual differences in plasma levels of estrogenic Tam metabolites interact with Tam therapy in vivo.

Plasma concentrations of estrogenic metabolites Bis, (E)-, and (Z)-Met E and their metabolic ratios (MR) to Tam were quantified in 306 premenopausal breast cancer patients mainly of European origin who were treated with 20 mg/day of Tam (Eccles D, et al. BMC Cancer 2007; 7: 160) using recently published LC-MS/MS methods (Johänning et al. Anal Bioanal Chem 2015; Mürdter et al. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2011). The endpoints recurrence-free interval (RFI) and event-free survival (EFS) were analyzed in hormone-receptor positive patients (N = 296) by Kaplan-Meyer and multivariate Cox regression adjusted for age, nodal status, tumor size, grade and plasma concentrations of endoxifen (as MR of desmethyl-Tam to endoxifen).

Plasma concentrations were as follows: Bis 13-832 pM (median 187 pM), (E)-Met E 15-1029 pM (median 213 pM), (Z)-Met E 128-2484 pM (median 889 pM), and Tam 47-1061 nM (median 360 nM). Patients with higher (E)-Met E to Tam ratios showed a higher risk of breast cancer recurrence when classified into quartiles: compared to patients of the lower quartile, patients had shorter RFI when they grouped to the interquartile (P = 0.037) and the upper quartile (P = 0.005). There was a trend of higher recurrence risk for patients belonging to the upper quartile compared to the interquartile (P = 0.063). These findings were confirmed in multivariate Cox analyses: patients belonging to the upper quartile had a significantly increased hazard ratio (HR) of 2.77 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34-5.71; P = 0.006) and patients belonging to the interquartile showed a trend for increased HR of 1.75 (CI = 0.88-3.46; P = 0.1). For EFS, a linearly increased HR was confirmed for patients with higher (E)-Met E to Tam ratios (HR = 1.44, CI = 1.06-1.97; P = 0.021). Bis, (Z)-Met E and their MRs to Tam showed no significantly altered risk of cancer recurrence or death.

These findings suggest that higher formation rates of the most potent estrogenic Tam metabolite (E)-Met E influence Tam outcome in breast cancer patients and may be linked to therapeutic failure.

Citation Format: Janina Johänning, Diana M. Eccles, Bryony Eccles, Michel Eichelbaum, Matthias Schwab, Hiltrud Brauch, Thomas Mürdter, Werner Schroth. A high ratio of tamoxifen metabolite E to tamoxifen is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrences in premenopausal women. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2029.