# Tamoxifen- and Triptorelin-Induced Major Hypertriglyceridemia: A Case Report

## TL;DR

A breast cancer patient developed severe high triglycerides after taking tamoxifen and triptorelin, showing the need for lipid monitoring during treatment.

## Contribution

Reports a rare case of major hypertriglyceridemia caused by the combined use of tamoxifen and triptorelin in a breast cancer patient.

## Key findings

- The patient had triglyceride levels of 56 g/L after three months of treatment with tamoxifen and triptorelin.
- Stopping the drugs and starting fenofibrate and diet reduced triglycerides to 2 g/L within a month.
- The case highlights the need to monitor lipid profiles when using these drugs to prevent complications.

## Abstract

Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), can have harmful side effects, such as hypertriglyceridemia, which can lead to acute pancreatitis. Meanwhile, triptorelin is an analog of natural GnRH (GnRHa), which may cause a small but significant increase in cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) levels.

We describe below the case of a patient with breast cancer treated with Patey’s operation, chemo-radiotherapy, and then with tamoxifen and triptorelin. After an exposure period of three months, she presented major hypertriglyceridemia at 56 g/L, total cholesterol at 13 g/L, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) at 4 g/L, and HDL at 0.25 g/L. The patient’s treatment was stopped by her oncologist. One month after starting an adapted diet and fenofibrate, her TG levels were reduced to 2 g/L.

We could confirm from these results that tamoxifen and triptorelin certainly modify lipid metabolism, hence the interest in evaluating the benefit-risk balance and regularly monitoring the lipid profile in order to avoid any fatal complication.