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| home : pages : what's new in medicine vol. 3 : tamoxifen's preventive efficacy in breast cancer... : | |||||
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TAMOXIFEN'S PREVENTIVE EFFICACY IN BREAST CANCER QUESTIONEDTwo new studies published in the July 11, 1 998 iss ue of the Lancet called into question the efficacy of Tamoxifen and the prevention of breast cancer. Dr. Veronesi of the European I nstitute of Oncology in Milan, Italy reported prelimanary findings from the Italian Tamoxifen prevention study showing that breast cancer rates are NO I reduced. the only significant benefit of Tamoxifen's treatment therapy was observed in a subgroup of women who wore concurrently taking hormone replacement therapy, in whom tamoxifen prophylaxis significantly reduced the risk of developing breast cancer.Meanwhile, Dr. Trevor Powles of the Royal Marsden NI IS Trust in Surrey, England, reported that they, too, were unable to confirm the American findings of significant protection against breast cancer with tamoxifen prophylaxis. The British study enrolled "2,494 healthy women aged between 30 and 70 with a family history of breast cancer." After 70 months of follow-up, women taking 20mg. per day tamoxifen developed breast cancer at the same rate as those taking a placebo. This is Lhe first study that used genetic criteria to determine breast cancer risk. The North American researchers used entry criteria based mostly on non genetic risk factors. The Italian and British findings will put some doubt on the wisdom of the rush, at least in some places, to prescribe tamoxifen widely for prevention. The discrepancy in the results between Britain and America necessitates further trials to evaluate the long-term risks and benefits of using Larnoxifen in healthy women to see which women may gain the most benefit. --> return to menu / back ... (click) --> return to top of the page (click) |
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