Use of tamoxifen in the treatment of malignant melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Tamoxifen has been used in the treatment of patients with metastatic malignant melanoma either as a single agent or, more commonly, in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. The aim of the current study was to summarize the available clinical evidence on the role of the tamoxifen in different combination chemotherapy regimens because clinical studies including tamoxifen have produced inconclusive results.

METHODS: The authors designed a systematic review and metaanalysis of published randomized controlled trials to assess the benefit of tamoxifen added to various single-agent or multiagent chemotherapy or biochemotherapy regimens.

RESULTS: Six randomized trials met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. These 6 trials involved a combined total of 912 patients. Of this number, 455 patients were randomized to receive tamoxifen added to chemotherapy or biochemotherapy regimens and 457 were randomized to receive chemotherapy or biochemotherapy without tamoxifen. The overall response rate was not improved significantly by the addition of tamoxifen to the chemotherapy regimen (odds ratio [OR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75-1.82; test for overall effect: P = 0.14). The results were not statistically significant for complete response (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.33-1.25; test for overall effect: P = 0.19).

CONCLUSIONS: The current metaanalysis demonstrated that tamoxifen does not improve the overall response rate, complete response rate, or survival rate when administered along with combined chemotherapy regimens. Currently, the strength of evidence does not support the use of tamoxifen in combination with other systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.