Benefits of breast cancer drug cited
Source: Agencies |
March 23, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BREAST cancer patients who take the generic drug tamoxifen for five years are less likely to see their cancer return than those who take it for only two years, according to a large long-term study by British scientists.
The findings showed that for every hundred women with breast cancer who completed a full five-year course of tamoxifen, the cancer came back in around six fewer women, compared to those who took it for two years.
"Women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer who are prescribed tamoxifen are recommended to take the drug for five years, but we know that many stop after two or three," said Allan Hackshaw of the Cancer Research UK and University College London Cancer Trials Centre, who worked on the study.
"Worryingly our results suggest that by doing this, they could increase their risk of cancer coming back."
Of the 3,500 patients studied over 10 years, the cancer came back in around 40 percent of those who took tamoxifen for five years, compared to 46 percent among those who took it for two years.
Breast cancer kills around 500,000 people globally every year and is diagnosed in close to 1.3 million people each year. About 75 percent of these cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, meaning they are driven by hormones.
Tamoxifen was the first drug to block the effects of estrogen, and a new generation of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors has now been developed to act in a similar way.
Experts in the United States estimate that five years of tamoxifen would cost around US$8,500, compared with US$50,000 to US$200,000 for chemotherapy.
The British study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Monday, also found that an added benefit of taking tamoxifen for five years was that it reduced the risk of developing or dying from heart disease.
The findings showed that for every hundred women with breast cancer who completed a full five-year course of tamoxifen, the cancer came back in around six fewer women, compared to those who took it for two years.
"Women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer who are prescribed tamoxifen are recommended to take the drug for five years, but we know that many stop after two or three," said Allan Hackshaw of the Cancer Research UK and University College London Cancer Trials Centre, who worked on the study.
"Worryingly our results suggest that by doing this, they could increase their risk of cancer coming back."
Of the 3,500 patients studied over 10 years, the cancer came back in around 40 percent of those who took tamoxifen for five years, compared to 46 percent among those who took it for two years.
Breast cancer kills around 500,000 people globally every year and is diagnosed in close to 1.3 million people each year. About 75 percent of these cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, meaning they are driven by hormones.
Tamoxifen was the first drug to block the effects of estrogen, and a new generation of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors has now been developed to act in a similar way.
Experts in the United States estimate that five years of tamoxifen would cost around US$8,500, compared with US$50,000 to US$200,000 for chemotherapy.
The British study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Monday, also found that an added benefit of taking tamoxifen for five years was that it reduced the risk of developing or dying from heart disease.
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