Is Tamoxifen an Effective Treatment for Gynecomastia?

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Tamoxifen appears safe and effective in men with painful idiopathic or physiological gynaecomastia and should be considered as an initial option before contemplating surgery, a medical research revealed.

Gynecomastia affects a lot of males in the US alone, although not many come out to share their concerns, leading most of those who have it to suffer in silence. Another thing is that it doesn’t choose any age for it to strike. It can affect infants to men in their old age.

The problem with gynecomastia is that it can be triggered by a number of factors. This includes hormone, obesity, medications, drugs, aging, tumors, hyperthyroidism, and hypogonadism.  Because of the variety of causes the treatment should also be customized for each unique case.

Treatment options include medications, hormone therapy, lifestyle changes and even surgery. But one treatment in particular that we should focus on is tamoxifen.

This particular treatment acts on the hormonal changes that occur on the inside that triggers gynecomastia. The main used of this product is for the treatment of breast cancer, and research found that this is also an appropriate drug to treat gynecomastia.

Tamoxifen treats cancer by blocking strong estrogenic effects in the system which actually encourages the tumor to grow and thrive. With gynecomastia, the ratio of testosterone and estrogen falls out of balance, with the latter increasing in amounts. That is why tamoxifen can be considered a good treatment for this condition because it blocks the increased amounts of oxygen.

Tamoxifen is especially helpful when it comes to treating pubertal gynecomastia. If the condition does not resolve easily, this drug can be given also to relieve the emotional distress that it also causes.

Men who are also into taking anabolic steroids to look buff or improve performance also put their bodies at risk in developing gynecomastia. It can be expected that after a cycle of steroids, there is a good chance that the breast can increase in size. But treatment with tamoxifen gynecomastia can be prevented in the initial stages.

In another situation where men who are also afflicted with prostate cancer take anti-androgen therapy, they may be at a heightened the risk for gynecomastia due to the resulting increase of estrogen in the system.

There are also other instances where the cause for gynecomastia cannot be determined, or what is called idiopathic. For this particular reason, a tamoxifen treatment could be very important especially if the condition is going on for months without any signs of relief.

But it is also important that proper treatment is done so that the drug can reach its desired effect. This means that there should be a right time for the treatment, and it should be done before the breast tissue enlarges for a long period of time. Otherwise, it wouldn’t do enough to create significant relief.

So if you suspect that you may have gynecomastia, immediately consult a doctor so that prompt treatment can be given. In this way you can also save yourself the stress and embarrassment that is associated with the condition. 

Source and Citation 

Hanavadi, S., et.al., (2006). The role of tamoxifen in the management of gynaecomastia. Abstract Retrieved from Science Direct.