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Search Results for tamoxifen
Certain gene increases benefits of tamoxifen
A drug to treat breast cancer called tamoxifen works better if the person has a gene for an enzyme called
cytochromeP450 2D6 (CYP2D6). This gene also determines whether hot flashes ar likely to occur, reports the Journal of
Clinical Oncology. It is observable to Dr. Matthew P. Goetz, from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in Rochester,
MInnesota, that CYP2D6 is critcally important for tamoxifen's anti-cancer benefits. If a patient taking tamoxifen has a
gene profile which limits CYP2D6 ability to convert the drug into active form a recurrence of breast cancer is more
likely. It is also apparent that the individuals who do not metabolize tamoxifen the best have few hot flashes, even
none at all. It will be very beneficial to do genetic testing on individuals prescribed tamoxifen. ...
Femara results in fewer recurrences than Tamoxifen
Femara (letrozole) is an aromatase inhibitor that works by suppressing the production of estrogen. In postmenopausal women estrogen is still produced in the body by the adrenal gland. Decreasing this production is a way of decreasing the risk of recurrence.
Tamoxifen on the other hand works by blocking the estrogen receptors on the cancer cell itself resulting in slower growth of the cell or cell death. Tamoxifen can be given to post or premenopausal women but Femara would only be prescribed to women that are postmenopausal. The reason being, is that a premenopausal women will still have estrogen produced by the ovaries. Femara would not be effective in this instance.
A Phase III clinical trial that is ongoing shows preliminary results that Femara is superior than Tamoxifen in women with early stage disease that are postmenopausal. The results of the study were published in the Annals of Oncology.
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Continue reading Femara results in fewer recurrences than Tamoxifen
Aromatase inhibitors following tamoxifen: Who gains benefit?
I'm coming up on my last year on tamoxifen. I often wonder if it would be beneficial to me to begin taking an aromatase inhibitor following my five years of tamoxifen. According to an article published in the journal Cancer, premenopausal women with breast cancer that has spread to at least four lymph nodes received the most benefit from aromatase inhibitors following treatment with tamoxifen. Postmenopausal women with cancer that has spread to three or less nodes only seem to get a 1-2 percent benefit from the addition of an aromatase inhibitor following tamoxifen.
I don't seem to fit in either category since I had premenopausal breast cancer with less than four lymph nodes positive. I also thought that if you are premenopausal that aromatase inhibitors were not beneficial at all and only postmenopausal women were able to take these drugs.
Aromatase inhibitors work by reducing the amount of estrogen your body makes. Your adrenal glands produce a substance called androstenedione, which gets converted into ...
Molecule added to Tamoxifen can help the drug regain its strength
Tamoxifen has been used successfully for over 20 years. The researchers know that over time Tamoxifen can lose its effectiveness. Many women diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer that have tumors that are estrogen-receptor positive can be put on Tamoxifen to control the disease. After some time the patient becomes resistant to Tamoxifen and has to be switched to another drug.
A molecule, called disulfide benzamide or DIBA, could provide a way to overcome that resistance and restore the effectiveness of Tamoxifen. Findings are published in the December issue of Cancer Cell that show how mice engineered to develop Tamoxifen resistant tumors and human breast cancer cells in the lab were given the molecule. In both cases the tumor growth slowed.
William Farrar, head of the Cancer Stem Cell Section of the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research and the studies lead author, says "DIBA is what is known as a lead compound, which means it merely opens the door to suitable drugs." He also says that ...
Tamoxifen reduces the risk of developing cancer for years following treatment
Results presented at the 2006 annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, says that it appears Nolvadex (tamoxifen) reduces the risk of developing cancer years following completion of preventative therapy among women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer.
Data from a clinical trial, including 7,145 women who were at high risk for developing breast cancer, was reevaluated at 10 years follow up. They found that breast cancer was reduced by 29 percent among women treated with tamoxifen compared to those taking the placebo. The preventative effect on breast cancer, specifically hormone-positive breast cancer, was actually improved at 10 years compared to the five-year follow-up.
The researchers concluded that women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer continue to benefit from tamoxifen, even five years following completion of treatment.
Talk to you doctor if fall in the high risk group for breast cancer. There are individual risks and benefits for tamoxifen and it may prevent physicians ...
Tamoxifen halts long-term breast cancer risk
Breast cancer drug tamoxifen, designed to cut recurrence in women with estrogen-receptor positive disease, has been shown to continue working long after women stop taking the drug. And two studies suggest it might also offer long-term protection for healthy women with high risk of developing breast cancer. One such study found the drug decreases risk of hormone-sensitive breast cancer by 39 percent over 20 years. Another shows a 34 percent decrease for up to eight years after the therapy concludes. Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, one study -- the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study, or IBIS -- looked at 7,145 women at high risk of breast cancer. And for the first time, clear evidence has surfaced in support of the merits of tamoxifen after the completion of treatment. IBIS study participants took either a daily dose of tamoxifen or a placebo for five years. At the eight-year mark, 87 women who took the actual drug were diagnosed with estrogen-receptor positive breast ...
Tamoxifen-induced hot flashes cut breast cancer recurrence
Now here's some good news for Tamoxifen-taking, hot-flash suffering women. A new study finds women who have lots of hot flashes during treatment with the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen have a lower risk of recurrence than women who don't suffer from the annoying waves of heat commonly associated with menopause. "This study provides the first evidence that hot flashes may be an indicator of a better prognosis in women with early stage breast cancer," said study author John P. Pierce, Ph.D., from the University of California at San Diego. "Our data supports the possibility of a significant association between hot flashes and disease outcome."
More study is necessary to determine whether or not hot flashes -- which may predict better outcomes than severity of cancer, hormone receptor status, and age -- are associated with Tamoxifen and breast cancer progression.
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Chemo plus tamoxifen a go, ovary suppression a no
Results of two studies, sponsored by the Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials Collaborative Group, conclude that adding chemotherapy to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen improves survival for those with early-stage breast cancer. The same studies reveal preventing the secretion of estrogen from the ovaries does not offer much benefit for most women. Researchers studied 1991 patients, ages 28 to 81. All had received five years worth of treatment with tamoxifen therapy with or without standard chemotherapy. Some premenopausal women were also treated with ovarian removal (ablation) or suppression, a technique used to stop the glands from secreting hormones. While early results, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, fell short of statistical significance, chemotherapy still reduced the overall risk of death by 17 percent, mostly for women younger than 50 and especially for premenopausal women not treated with ovarian ablation or suppression.
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Arimidex declared superior to Tamoxifen
The International Aromatase Inhibitor Expert Panel, a panel of 24 breast cancer specialists from Europe, the USA, Australia, China and Brazil, has reconfirmed that aromatase inhibitors (AIs) such as Arimidex, are superior to Tamoxifen in the chemoprevention drug treatment of postmenopausal women with newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive, early breast cancer. "Over the last three years, there has been an influx of new information about the use of aromatase inhibitors in early breast cancer, and while this is great news, it has created a great deal of confusion. This guidance helps to clarify considerations for use of AIs in everyday practice. These data provide the evidence that support using an aromatase inhibitor at the earliest opportunity," commented panel member Dr. Aman Buzdar, professor of medicine for the department of breast medical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. While aromatase inhibitors are better tolerated and cause less potentially life-threatening side ...
Tamoxifen and Anastrozole Sequential Therapy Better Than Tamoxifen Alone
Switching from tamoxifen to anastrozole after two years is more beneficial for women with early breast cancer than staying on tamoxifen for the usual five-year period. Scientists at the Vienna Medical University in Austria said varying tamoxifen therapy with anastrozole produced better results in post-menopausal women and can reduce the risk of the disease recurring or spreading by up to 40 percent.
The Austrian researchers published their findings, and recommendations, in the Lancet. ...
Women at Risk Defer Use of Tamoxifen
Most women at high risk of developing breast cancer choose not to take tamoxifen to help reduce their risk. Recent studies have shown that tamoxifen can reduce risk in high-risk women by nearly 50 percent. However, many women at risk are never given the option—or advised against it by their physicians.
According to new research published in the current issue of the journal Annals of Family Medicine, of 88 women at high risk of eventually developing breast cancer, only 1 agreed to take tamoxifen. Remarkably, only about half of the women discussed tamoxifen with their doctors, and in most cases their doctors advised against taking the drug.
Most women deferred taking tamoxifen because of a fear of side effects, which can include hot flashes, blood clots in the legs or lungs, stroke, and uterine cancer. Additionally, many high-risk women did not perceive themselves as being at risk.
Full text article available here. ...
Women at Risk Defer Use of Tamoxifen
Although tamoxifen is prescribed to reduce breast cancer risk, women who are at increased risk of developing the disease don’t want to take the drug. An early view of a study, scheduled to be printed in the May 15, 2005 issue of the journal Cancer, is available online and indicates that fewer than 1 in 5 women at risk are prepared to take tamoxifen to reduce their risk.
Dr. Joy Melnikow and colleagues at the University of California-Davis in Sacramento who conducted the study point out that an estimated 2 million women in the U.S. could experience a net benefit from taking tamoxifen. However, reportedly only about 5 percent of women who take tamoxifen do so to reduce their risk of breast cancer. Despite a very high self-perceived breast cancer risk, most women appeared to have more concern about adverse effects.
The researchers conclude that “candidate chemoprevention agents must have few potential adverse effects to achieve widespread acceptance.”
Full text article ...
New Breast Cancer Drugs Offer Alternative to Tamoxifen
Tamoxifen's long reign as the queen of breast-cancer treatments is being challenged by three heiress presumptives -- drugs known as aromatase inhibitors, according to Health Day News.
Tamoxifen has a proven track record in terms of stopping the regrowth of breast cancer. Dr. Neil Love of the University of Miami said, "You can make a pretty good argument that this little pill has prevented more suffering from cancer than perhaps any other systemic agent in the history of oncologic therapy."
Now with the introduction of aromatase inhibitors, a newer class of anti-estrogens, the picture has changed dramatically, and women and their oncologists have choices. Tamoxifen becomes merely one of the choices and not necessarily the leading one. ...
Tamoxifen: new warning label for chemoprevention drug
MarketWatch is reporting that a panel of experts has recommended that the drug labeling for Tamoxifen be changed to include warnings some women with estrogen-positive breast cancer might be at greater risk for breast cancer recurrence. The recommendation comes as a result of studies that show the drug is not as effective for women with estrogen-positive breast cancer if they also carry an enzyme, called CYP2D6, that does not actively metabolize tamoxifen as it should to make the drug work in preventing breast cancer. According to the report, the panel's decision isn't official and doesn't indicate the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will seek a change on the drug's label. However, one of the panel members suggested that while testing women to see if they are at greater risk, due to poor activity of CYP2D6, should not be mandatory, women need to be made aware of the risks and that testing of this enzyme is available. This might be an especially important consideration for pre-menopausal women, as ...
Women taking tamoxifen for breast cancer decrease heart disease risk
Doctors have found that women who take tamoxifen (a steroid) for breast cancer for five years rather than only two years, even if they are cancer-free, reduce their risk of developing heart disease. The article said there is a slightly increased incidence of developing endometrial cancer with longer tamoxifen therapy.However, women who continue with tamoxifen not only have reduced incidence of heart disease, but appear also to have reduced incidence of death from all causes. ...
