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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who want to take the drug tamoxifen to help prevent breast cancer may be able to get by on as little as 25 percent of the normal dose, researchers said Monday.
Dr. Andrea Decensi of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and colleagues in Norway gave 105 women varying doses of tamoxifen. The drug has been found to reduce the incidence of breast cancer by more than 40 percent in women who are at high risk of developing the disease.
Researchers found that a much smaller dose--one that reduced the amount of tamoxifen in the blood by 80 percent--still seemed to be working.
Tamoxifen, sold by AstraZeneca Plc under the name Nolvadex, has been used for years to treat breast cancer. Last year, however, it was found to prevent breast cancer in some women when they took it for five years.
It works by blocking the estrogen receptor on cells. Breast cancer is known to be affected by the hormone.
However, there are side effects from tamoxifen use--including a slightly increased risk of uterine cancer, hot flashes and a rise in the levels of triglycerides, one of the elements of blood cholesterol.
"Despite the universal use of this drug for more than 20 years, its minimal active dose has never been established," Decensi said in a statement.
More tests will be needed. One thing doctors will want to see is if the lower dose reduces the risk of uterine cancer.
Fewer side effects In a second report in the journal, a team at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California at Los Angeles said women taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer suffer only some of the bad side effects.
The 11,000 women taking the drug had vaginal discharge, hot flashes and some of the sexual dysfunction that has been reported, but not weight gain and depression.
"Weight gain and depression, two clinical problems anecdotally associated with tamoxifen treatment, were not increased in frequency in this trial of healthy women," Dr. Richard Day of Pittsburgh said in a statement.
"This is very good news."
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Go To Page: 1 |
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