Tamoxifen Induced Pancreatitis in Eu-lipidemia: A Case Report

Tamoxifen is used as hormonal therapy in the treatment of breast cancer patients. Tamoxifen tablet is a well tolerated and generally devoid of any life threatening adverse drug reaction. Pancreatitis is a rare but life threatening adverse drug reaction of tamoxifen. Rare side effects of drugs are usually missed. Previous case reports and review discussions are available and argue that tamoxifen leads to dyslipidemia and pancreatitis is mostly related to development of hypertriglyceridemia. Here we are reporting a case where patient developed pancreatitis after short term use of tamoxifen (only 1 month). To our knowledge this is a first case report where no dyslipidemia was detected prior to development of pancreatitis and, thus, such short term presentation may be linked to immunologic or idiosyncratic reaction to tamoxifen. Gynecologists are routinely referred patients on tamoxifen therapy for abnormal endometrial thickness and, thus, any patient with acute abdominal pain on tamoxifen therapy should be thoroughly investigated for pancreatitis too. From our case it comes to light lipid derangements may not be always associated with such event and discontinuation of tamoxifen is recommended.