We have examined the estrogen responsiveness and estrogen receptor in medullary thyroid carcinoma using a model of an established human cell line, TT. TT cells bind [3H]estradiol with high affinity. Scatchard analysis reveals a single class of binding site with a concentration of 173 fmol/10(6) cells and a dissociation constant of 2.1 x 10(-9) M, values which are comparable to those of a well established model cell line for estrogen responsiveness, MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Estradiol in physiological concentrations moderately stimulated TT cell proliferation, whereas in pharmacological concentrations it markedly inhibited cell growth. [3H]Thymidine incorporation into acid-insoluble material was also stimulated following a 5-day treatment with 5 x 10(-9) M estradiol. Tamoxifen at a concentration of 1 microM reduced cell proliferation by 43-48% after 5-7 days of treatment. The growth suppression induced by tamoxifen was reversed by addition of 10 nM estradiol. This is the first report of estrogen growth stimulation and tamoxifen growth inhibition of a tumor cell line derived from human medullary thyroid carcinoma.