Tamoxifen versus placebo in the treatment of Peyronie's disease.

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of oral tamoxifen and placebo in patients with Peyronie's disease. We selected 25 patients with Peyronie's disease who did not have calcified plaque for treatment in the andrology outpatient clinic. A medical history was obtained, and physical examination, penile x-ray, penile ultrasound and pharmacologically induced erection with prostaglandin E1 were performed. Patients were randomly divided into group 1--those who received 20 mg. tamoxifen twice daily for 3 months and group 2--those who received placebo for the same period. The same evaluations were done 4 months later and results were compared. Qualitative (chi-square test) and quantitative (Student's t test) results were analyzed using the Yates correction factor with p <0.05 considered significant. Pain subsided in 66.6 and 75% of the patients treated with tamoxifen and placebo, respectively (p >0.05). In groups 1 and 2 a reduction in the penile deformity was noticed by 46.1 and 41.7% of the patients (p >0.05), and a decrease in plaque size was noticed by 30.7 and 25%, respectively. On the other hand, objective measurements did not reveal any difference in plaque area or curvature angle. This study did not show significant improvement in pain, curvature or plaque size in patients with Peyronie's disease who were treated with tamoxifen compared with those treated with placebo.