Tamoxifen Paroxetine Interaction

Selecting antidepressants is so critical.  One of the areas where I believe pharmacists excel above other healthcare professions is the management and recognition of drug interactions.  Here, I breakdown the tamoxifen paroxetine interaction.

A 56 year old female has been having increased depressive symptoms and was placed on paroxetine 20 mg daily.  Her other medications include:

  • Aspirin 81 mg daily
  • Tamoxifen 20 mg daily
  • Lansoprazole 30 mg daily
  • Docusate 100 mg daily
  • Ibuprofen 400 mg as needed
  • Vitamin D 1000 units daily

When reviewing a drug interaction, the first thing I look at is what is going to be the result from this interaction.  In the case of paroxetine interacting with tamoxifen, the end result will potentially be a reduced tamoxifen concentration.  In someone using tamoxifen for breast cancer, this is obviously a significant concern.

Another important question is how does this interaction happen.  Tamoxifen is considered a prodrug.  A prodrug gets converted by the body (through enzymes) to an active form (or more active form).  In this case, that enzyme is CYP2D6.  CYP2D6 is inhibited by paroxetine.  Giving paroxetine to a patient who is taking tamoxifen will therefore block the conversion of tamoxifen to the more active form that provides the benefit to the patient.

With some interactions (particularly many binding interactions), we can alter timing of doses and still keep the patient on the medications that are desired.  Unfortunately in this case, the most appropriate action would be to identify an alternative antidepressant.  You must remember however that many other antidepressants can inhibit 2D6 as well.  Fluoxetine and bupropion are two more examples that can impact CYP2D6.

One of the most challenging aspects of drug interactions is that you can often find conflicting evidence. If you do a literature search on this, you will find reports of this tamoxifen paroxetine interaction having no impact.  However, it is always important to play it on the safe side if other alternatives exist.

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4 Comments

  1. Evans

    Is there no interaction coming from lansoprazole … Just curious

    Reply
    • gopinath

      overcome by 2 hr apart with Tamoxifen , Evans. I think so.

      Reply
  2. Megan

    This is indeed a very important drug-drug interaction. I also think as we move toward more personalized medicine on a genomic level, that it would be a good idea to consider having her genotyped for CYP2D6. This could also affect the efficacy of tamoxifen. If using a panel that tests multiple different genes, she could also have a better idea of which antidepressants, PPIs, antiemetics and analgesics may work best for her.

    Reply
  3. Gopinath

    Good review : here is the few possible interactions to be ruled out ; paroxetin 20 mg vs Tamoxifen ; Tamoxifen vs vitamin D 1000 units are important observations ; effect of lansaprazole overcome by 2 hr apart with Tamoxifen and aspirin impact cannot be ignored !

    Reply

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Written By Eric Christianson

February 22, 2017

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