Safety and Efficacy Results of a Randomized Trial Comparing Adjuvant Toremifene and Tamoxifen in Postmenopausal Patients With Node-Positive Breast Cancer

PURPOSE: In this multicenter trial, toremifene 40 mg/d was compared with tamoxifen 20 mg/d, both given orally for 3 years to postmenopausal, axillary node–positive women after breast surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The first 899 patients (toremifene, n = 459; tamoxifen, n = 440) of the total of 1,480 patients accrued to the trial were included in this scheduled safety analysis. The mean follow-up time was 3.4 years. RESULTS: The two treatment groups were well balanced with respect to patient and disease characteristics. The subjective side-effect profile was similar in both treatment groups. Slightly more vascular complications (deep vein thromboses, cerebrovascular events, and pulmonary embolisms) were seen among tamoxifen-treated patients (5.9%) as compared with toremifene-treated patients (3.5%) (P = .11), whereas bone fractures (P = .09) and vaginal leukorrhea (P = .05) were more common in the toremifene group. The number of subsequent second cancers was similar. The breast cancer recurrence rate was 2...