tamoxifen

[tuh-mok-suh-fuh n, ‐fen]

noun Pharmacology.

an antineoplastic drug, C26H29NO, that blocks the estrogen receptors on cancer cells, used in the treatment of breast cancer.

Origin of tamoxifen

1970–75; perhaps t(rans)- + am(ino)- + oxy-² + phen(yl), with respelling of y and ph

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British Dictionary definitions for tamoxifen

tamoxifen

noun

a drug that antagonizes the action of oestrogen and is used to treat breast cancer and some types of infertility in women

Word Origin for tamoxifen

C20: altered from t (rans-) + am (ine) + oxy- ² + phen (ol)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tamoxifen in Science

tamoxifen

[tə-mŏk′sə-fĕn]

An estrogen antagonist drug used to treat advanced breast cancer in women whose tumors are estrogen-dependent and to prevent breast cancer in some women who are at high risk.