Comparison between tamoxifen and clomiphene therapy in women with anovulation.

Forty-eight women with various types of menstrual disorder were treated with tamoxifen: 30 of them ovulated as judged by serum progesterone concentrations and the basal body temperature (BBT) record. Serial determinations of serum FSH, LH, prolactin, and estradiol-17 beta showed that tamoxifen acts primarily on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Before or after the tamoxifen treatment cycles, 30 women received clomiphene. The ovulation rate in women with primary and secondary amenorrhea was similar, while women with oligomenorrhea tended to be more responsive to tamoxifen than to clomiphene. There was no difference between the drugs in the duration of the luteal phases nor in the pregnancy rate. The side effects during treatment with clomiphene were pronounced than during tamoxifen therapy.