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I read a.m daily and have been in the sport 20 years..came across this on the A.P. wires today. Are the side effects listed in this article a high risk for males also??? I currently use Nolva PCT and also have High Blood pressure is this a major concern??
Study: Tamoxifen Not Likely To Be Widely Prescribed
Researcher: Similar Drug With Fewer Side Effects Needed
POSTED: 4:24 pm EDT September 27, 2004
The drug tamoxifen has been shown to help prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. And in some women, it can prevent the deadly disease in the first place.
Tamoxifen
But a new study suggests that it's unlikely tamoxifen will ever be given widely to women to prevent breast cancer because it only prevents 6 to 8.3 percent of breast tumors in eligible women.
"Our calculations showed that tamoxifen's possibly harmful side effects, including blood clots and stroke, would rule out some 90 percent of women who might benefit from taking it each day," said Dr. Russell Harris, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tamoxifen, a chemopreventive therapy, works in women by blocking what's known as the estrogen receptor that allows the hormone to work. Most breast cancer development is dependent on estrogen.
In the study, which is published in Monday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, 605 North Carolina women ages 40 to 69 filled out questionnaires about their health and family histories of breast cancer. Then, researchers determined the expected number of cases that would occur over the next five years.
They found that only a relatively small number of women in primary care practices would be eligible for tamoxifen because of existing conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes and other risk factors, Harris said. Since the majority of women never develop breast cancer anyway, the percentage of actual cancers prevented would be small.
"Screening mammography, which is useful, is not the whole answer to preventing breast cancer deaths, and our new work shows that tamoxifen won't be, either," Harris said.
But he said the study imparts an important message to the research community: A drug like tamoxifen that has fewer side effects could save more lives.
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Study: Tamoxifen Not Likely To Be Widely Prescribed
Researcher: Similar Drug With Fewer Side Effects Needed
POSTED: 4:24 pm EDT September 27, 2004
The drug tamoxifen has been shown to help prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. And in some women, it can prevent the deadly disease in the first place.
Tamoxifen
But a new study suggests that it's unlikely tamoxifen will ever be given widely to women to prevent breast cancer because it only prevents 6 to 8.3 percent of breast tumors in eligible women.
"Our calculations showed that tamoxifen's possibly harmful side effects, including blood clots and stroke, would rule out some 90 percent of women who might benefit from taking it each day," said Dr. Russell Harris, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tamoxifen, a chemopreventive therapy, works in women by blocking what's known as the estrogen receptor that allows the hormone to work. Most breast cancer development is dependent on estrogen.
In the study, which is published in Monday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, 605 North Carolina women ages 40 to 69 filled out questionnaires about their health and family histories of breast cancer. Then, researchers determined the expected number of cases that would occur over the next five years.
They found that only a relatively small number of women in primary care practices would be eligible for tamoxifen because of existing conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes and other risk factors, Harris said. Since the majority of women never develop breast cancer anyway, the percentage of actual cancers prevented would be small.
"Screening mammography, which is useful, is not the whole answer to preventing breast cancer deaths, and our new work shows that tamoxifen won't be, either," Harris said.
But he said the study imparts an important message to the research community: A drug like tamoxifen that has fewer side effects could save more lives.
Previous Stories:
