Tamoxifen (TAM) is an important chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer. It has also been shown to decrease breast cancer incidence in healthy women at high risk for the disease. The increased risk of endometrial cancer in women has raised concerns in the use of the drug. Tamoxifen has also been shown to be a potent hepatocarcinogen in rats. The oxidative metabolites of TAM include alpha-hydroxytamoxifen (alpha-OH-TAM) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OH-TAM). The studies on the sulfation of these metabolites are very limited. It has been reported that alpha-OH-TAM is a substrate for rat hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase a (STa). Our studies on the sulfation of 4-OH-TAM demonstrated that 4-hydroxytamoxifen can be sulfated by human liver and human intestinal cytosols. Human phenol-sulfating sulfotransferase and human estrogen sulfotransferase are the major enzymes for the sulfation of 4-OH-TAM. Human dopamine-sulfating sulfotransferase also has sulfation activity for 4-OH-TAM. In contrast, rat liver and intestine cytosols have no detectable sulfation activity for 4-OH-TAM. The results suggest that the alpha-OH-TAM sulfation pathway leads to bioactivation of TAM, and the 4-OH-TAM sulfation pathway leads to detoxification of TAM. This agrees with the fact that TAM is more toxic for rats than for human beings.
Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 16:279-285, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.10048