Tamoxifen retinopathy

Tamoxifen (TAM) is a selective estrogen receptor modulator that is used in the treatment of breast cancer. As there are estrogen receptors in the retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and choroid, these tissues may also be affected by TAM. We describe the reported effects of TAM on the retina and choroid. Medical databases were searched using relevant keywords and the results were extracted and pooled. The incidence of retinal/choroidal toxicity ranged from 0.9% to 12%. There was a wide range for the time of exposure before the development of TAM retinopathy (3 weeks to 13 years). While functional measurements may be appropriate for assessment of TAM retinopathy, they have not been effective for screening patients. There is no generally accepted screening modality, but serial funduscopy and optical coherence tomography imaging seem to be the most reasonable approach for detecting early TAM-induced retinal toxicity.