Study confirms risks and benefits of long-term tamoxifen treatment

27. 08. 2009 | Cancer Research UK


New US research has confirmed that women who take the hormone therapy tamoxifen to reduce the risk of their breast cancer recurring are less likely to develop the most common type of breast cancer, but may face an increased risk of developing a more aggressive form of the disease [1].

Study confirms risks and benefits of long-term tamoxifen treatment

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However, Cancer Research UK said that the benefits of taking tamoxifen after a first diagnosis of breast cancer "far outweigh any potential risks".

The finding comes from new research by scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in the US, who studied the effect of tamoxifen in 1,103 breast cancer survivors.

Tamoxifen is an oestrogen-blocking drug that is usually prescribed to women with oestrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. The drug prevents oestrogen from driving breast cancer growth.

Read the whole article at Cancer Research UK

Reference

  1. Li CI, Daling JR, Porter PL, Tang MT, Malone KE. Adjuvant hormonal therapy for breast cancer and risk of hormone receptor-specific subtypes of contralateral breast cancer. Cancer Research 2009; 69(17): 6865–6870. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-1355

Keywords: tamoxifen, oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer, recurrence

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