Quantification of angiogenesis induced in rabbit cornea by breast carcinoma of women treated with tamoxifen

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tamoxifen on angiogenesis induced in rabbit cornea by breast carcinoma from post‐menopausal women. Methods Thirteen post‐menopausal women with operable, estrogen receptor‐positive breast carcinomas, treated with 20 mg of tamoxifen daily for 30 days prior to undergoing definitive surgery, participated in this study. Twenty‐six virgin female New Zealand white rabbits, 3–4 months old, weighing approximately 2.5 kg each, were divided into two groups of 13 animals and received corneal implants of tumor either pre‐ or post‐tamoxifen treatment. After 10 days, the animals were sacrificed, the region of the cornea between the tumor implant and the limbus was removed and quantification of angiogenesis was carried out by evaluating the entire hematoxylin‐eosin stained slide, using a 10× objective lens (100× magnification). Student t‐test was used in the statistical analysis of the data and statistical significance was established at P