Tamoxifin has been credited with saving millions of women’s lives. But the story of how an abandoned contraceptive was turned into an effective treatment cancer is a fascinating tale of a failure transformed into a medical breakthrough.
Although he didn’t invent the drug, breast cancer researcher V. Craig Jordan is called “The Father of Tamoxifin.” The drug was originally created to block estrogen in hopes of preventing pregnancy. Jordan was working on anti-estrogens as part of his PhD program at Leeds University in England when he met Arthur Walpole, the patent holder for the drug that became Tamoxifin.
Dr. Jordan is currently professor of breast medical oncology and professor of molecular and cellular oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. He’s speaking Monday, April 13th at SDSU on “The Tamoxifin Tale and Beyond.” His talk begins at 7 pm in the McCrory Gardens Education and Visitor Center.
Dr. Jordan joined Dakota Midday and discussed how being in the right place at the right time made all the difference in the development of Tamoxifin as a breast cancer treatment.