---
title: Does tamoxifen help severe premenstrual breast pain? | Niyora
description: Yes. Eighty-nine percent of women treated with tamoxifen were free of symptoms compared to 38% on placebo. Twelve months after treatment, 53% of the tamoxifen
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/treatment-of-premenstrual-mastalgia-with-tamoxifen-1988/
---

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- Does tamoxifen help severe premenstrual breast pain?

Randomised trial, 1988

# Does tamoxifen help severe premenstrual breast pain?

Yes. Eighty-nine percent of women treated with tamoxifen were free of symptoms compared to 38% on placebo. Twelve months after treatment, 53% of the tamoxifen-treated women remained symptom-free versus none of the placebo group.

 Moderate study design

34 women with normal menstrual cycles and severe premenstrual breast pain

## What they did

Thirty-four women with severe premenstrual breast pain were randomly assigned to receive tamoxifen 10 mg daily or placebo from cycle day 5 to day 24 for 6 consecutive cycles. Eighteen women received tamoxifen and 16 received placebo.

## What they found

After treatment, 89% of the tamoxifen group were free of symptoms and the remainder experienced partial alleviation. In the placebo group, 6 patients (38%) showed only partial alleviation. Twelve months after treatment ended, 53% of the tamoxifen-treated women were still free of symptoms compared with none of the placebo-treated women (p less than 0.001).

## What it means for you

Tamoxifen appears highly effective for severe premenstrual breast pain. The study was small with only 34 women total, and we do not know if results would be the same in other populations.

89%

Symptom-free on tamoxifen

53%

Still symptom-free at 12 months

38%

Partial relief on placebo

## About the study

Original title Treatment of premenstrual mastalgia with tamoxifen Authors Messinis IE, Lolis D Journal Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica Year 1988 Study design Randomised trial Participants 18 What was tested Tamoxifen 10 mg daily from cycle day 5 to 24 for 6 consecutive cycles Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0412.1988.tb07804.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0412.1988.tb07804.x)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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