For instance, tamoxifen has predominantly antiestrogenic effects in the breasts but predominantly estrogenic effects in the uterus and liver. Patients treated with both paroxetine and tamoxifen have a 67% increased risk of death from breast cancer, from 24% to 91%, depending on the duration of coadministration. The American Cancer Society lists tamoxifen as a known carcinogen, stating that it increases the risk of some types of uterine cancer while lowering the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Other medications are taken for similar purposes such as clomifene and aromatase inhibitor drugs; which are used in order to try to avoid the hormone-related adverse effects. It is also approved by the FDA for the prevention of breast cancer in women at high risk of developing the disease. Administering 1 g of testolactone daily for 6 weeks resulted in an increase of testosterone and LH and a decrease in estradiol. AIs are thought to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to estradiol peripherally inside adipocytes and also within the testes. In the few randomized placebo-controlled studies for idiopathic infertility that have been reported with use of this SERM, the results are mixed and contradictory.24-26 1980 saw the publication of the first trial to show that tamoxifen given in addition to chemotherapy improved survival for patients with early breast cancer. Without Walpole's effort towards defending the work that his team had done in discovering a possibly revolutionary source for breast cancer treatment, tamoxifen could have become a discarded or under-researched idea. It was only when Walpole threatened to leave his position that corporate decided to allow trials and testing for tamoxifen as a drug that could be used to treat breast cancer. Recent research has shown that 7–10% of women with breast cancer may not receive the full medical benefit from taking tamoxifen due to their genetic make-up. AIs can also be used in these same subsets of men who have an imbalance between testosterone and estradiol. There was an increase in testosterone for all patients; 20% of the oligospermic patients conceived naturally and 24% of azoospermic men had return of semen to their ejaculate. A follow-up study from the authors demonstrated a decrease in bone mineral density in those patients treated with anastrozole.32 Nonetheless, other studies have demonstrated that a short-term decrease in estradiol has no adverse effects on bone metabolism or adverse effects on lipid profiles or insulin resistance over a 3-month period.33,34 This discrepancy may be due to the fact that the first study was over a 1-year time period. Due to the inability to identify the precise etiology of male infertility (especially for the idiopathic aberrations of sperm parameters), a rational form of treatment is not available. Of the procedures employed in the treatment of male infertility, the most holistic approach was that of an all-out overactivation of the spermatozoa-producing apparatus and parts of the systematic regions of sperm maturation, for example, the testes and accessory glands. Because male infertility is characterized by multiple etiologies, multiple factors and obvious individual differences, many uncertainties exist surrounding its treatment. Therefore, we should not ignore the option of using testosterone as a treatment when testosterone-deficient male patients are diagnosed as infertility. Experiments in rats demonstrated that decreased testosterone levels caused sperm elongation failure and resulted in sperm that could easily detach from the Sertoli cells and be absorbed.9 Some researchers believe that a synergistic effect between testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone occurs that could inhibit the apoptosis of Sertoli cells.10 Additionally, testosterone is effective in promoting late-stage differentiation of sperm cells.11 Various types of empirical approaches for treatment have been employed, with variable rationales and some degree of success, in an effort to improve sperm parameters and the chance of conception in couples with idiopathic male infertility as the main cause of subfertility.5,6,7 Empirical treatment of male infertility was introduced in the late 1980s and aimed at overstimulating testicular function through agents that acted on the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis, drove Leydig and Sertoli cells to operate at their maximal capacity and exercised the accessory gland function. Most types of hormone therapy either lower estrogen levels in the body or stop estrogen from helping breast cancer cells grow. When used to treat breast cancer in men, these drugs are often combined with another hormone therapy, such as an AI or a SERD (see above). In men with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, hormone therapy is often used after surgery (as adjuvant therapy) to help reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.