Toremifene is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen currently being evaluated for the treatment of breast cancer.Toremifene (10-1°-10 -6 M) inhibited the growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro but was ineffective against hormone-independent MDA-MB-231 cells. This activity was reproduced in vivo using the athymic mouse model. Maximal MCF-7 tumor growth was produced in athymic mice by circulating estradiol levels of approximately 200 pg/ml (from a 0.5 cm silastic capsule implanted sc). Toremifene (77 + 44/~g/day from a 2 cm silastic capsule) inhibited estradiol (0.5 cm capsule)-stimulated growth by more than 70%. No tumor growth was observed in mice treated with toremifene alone, although toremifene acted as a weak partial agonist and potent antagonist on the mouse uterus. The growth of MDA-MB-231 tumors was not influenced by either estradiol or toremifene. Toremifene (200 ~g/day) was effective in preventing the development of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene-induced rat mammary tumors when given po from day 28 after carcinogen administration. The antitumor activity was reversed if the toremifene was stopped. These findings indicate toremifene is a tumoristatic agent rather than a tumoricidal agent. Clinical trials with toremifene should employ an indefinite treatment strategy to control tumor recurrence in adjuvant studies.Since the first report of taxmoxifen's efficacy in 1971 [1], several hundred papers have been published describing its use in a variety of patients with breast cancer. From the review of 50 major studies, Patterson et al. reported in 1981 [2] that a third of patients are likely to obtain objective remission of their disease with tamoxifen therapy. Its clinical success has established tamoxifen as the agent of choice for endocrine therapy of breast cancer in postmenopausal women [3,4]. Recently the pharmacology [5][6][7] and metabolism [3,8] of tamoxifen has been extensively reviewed. The drug is now available to treat all stages of breast cancer.With tamoxifen as the bench mark, new antiestrogens are being sought. Some are markedly different from tamoxifen in structure (zindoxifene, ICI 164,384), while others are modifications of the tam0xifen molecule (droloxifene, toremifene) (see Fig. 1). Toremifene is being evaluated in phase I and II clinical trials [9,10], and has prompted a series of studies of this antiestrogen in different biological systems. The current status of this new antiestrogen will be reviewed.