By analyzing a unique randomized tamoxifen trial including breast cancer patients receiving no adjuvant treatment we show for the first time that patients low in ERK phosphorylation in CAFs did not respond to tamoxifen treatment despite having estrogen-receptor alpha (ERα-positive tumors compared to patients with high pERK levels in CAFs (P = 0.015, multivariate Cox regression interaction analysis). Here, ESR1 is linked to breast carcinoma.