Tamoxifen News and Research

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Tamoxifen is a drug used to treat certain types of breast cancer in women and men. It is also used to prevent breast cancer in women who have had ductal carcinoma in situ (abnormal cells in the ducts of the breast) and in women who are at a high risk of developing breast cancer. Tamoxifen is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. It blocks the effects of the hormone estrogen in the breast. Tamoxifen is a type of antiestrogen. Also called tamoxifen citrate.

New biomarkers can predict patients' response to certain drugs

Recent advances in cancer therapeutics have led to the discovery of biomarkers that can predict patient response to certain drugs. Screening for mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) prior to non-small cell lung cancer treatment, for example, has been shown to indentify patients who are likely to respond to treatment with erlontinib. This maximizes the drug's impact, and spares patients who are not likely to benefit from being subjected to potentially debilitating side effects.

19 Nov 2009

Tips for preventing cancer

The risk of cancer can be dramatically reduced through everyday choices about diet, exercise and tobacco use, according to a Special Report on Cancer Prevention in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

12 Nov 2009

Scientists explore genetic 'Prozac markers'; research may provide simple test for treating depression

Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants.

28 Oct 2009

Physicians' recognize benefits of genetic testing; say formal education required to put it into practice

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.(NYSE: MHS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) today announced the findings of a national benchmark survey on physicians' acceptance, use and education regarding pharmacogenomic testing.

23 Oct 2009

Research study to determine association of CYP2D6 variation with tamoxifen therapy

Among women with early stage breast cancer, genetic variation of a certain enzyme appears to be associated with clinical outcomes for women treated with tamoxifen, according to a study in the October 7 issue of JAMA.

7 Oct 2009

Group Health Research Institute to receive federal stimulus funds from ARRA

Group Health Research Institute, formerly Group Health Center for Health Studies, will receive more than $15 million in federal stimulus funding from ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

6 Oct 2009

GeneMedRx software warns patients and physicians if tamoxifen benefit is at risk

One hundred eighty thousand women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Eighty thousand will start taking the drug tamoxifen to prevent the recurrence of their ER (estrogen receptor) positive breast cancers. The treatment is successful in two-thirds of the women who take it. Genelex Corporation (Seattle) is now offering Tamoxitest(TM) that could improve this success rate to greater than 90% by addressing both of the common causes of tamoxifen treatment failure.

3 Oct 2009

One third of women avoid routine mammogram tests

On the eve of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cancer Research UK today sends out a warning that if thousands of women continue to ignore invitations to breast screening they could be putting their lives at risk.

30 Sep 2009

NIH calls for identifying better methods to predict the risk of developing breast cancer

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common non-invasive lesion of the breast, presents unique challenges for patients and providers largely because the natural course of the untreated disease is not well understood. Because most women diagnosed with DCIS are treated, it is difficult to determine the comparative benefits of different treatment strategies versus active surveillance, meaning systematic followup.

25 Sep 2009

Results of IES presented at ECCO

Pfizer Inc today announced new, longer-term data from the Intergroup Exemestane Study (IES) showing that women who switched to AROMASIN® (exemestane tablets) after taking tamoxifen for two to three years experienced a significant reduction (18%) in the risk of disease-free survival (DFS) events. In addition, IES showed that AROMASIN prolonged overall survival (OS) in the ER+/unknown population with a 14% reduction in the risk of dying. These results demonstrate that the benefits of treatment are maintained in long term follow-up. These results were presented at the joint ECCO 15/ESMO 34 meeting in Berlin, Germany.

23 Sep 2009

Pfizer Oncology to present early-stage research of investigational agents for cancer treatment

Pfizer Oncology will present data from across its portfolio, including results from long-term follow-up of Aromasin® (exemestane tablets) in a study of early breast cancer, updated study results from a Phase 3 study of Sutent® (sunitinib malate) in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET), and early-stage research of investigational agents PF-02341066 and figitumumab (CP-751,871) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

19 Sep 2009

Breast cancer prevention drugs may negatively affect patients

Three drugs, including tamoxifen, reduce a woman's chance of getting breast cancer, but each drug carries distinct potential harms of its own, according to a new report from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Sep 2009

Springer signs agreement with The Endocrine Society to co-publish a new journal

Springer, one of the leading publishers in the fields of science, technology and medicine, has signed an agreement with The Endocrine Society to co-publish a new journal, Hormones & Cancer, starting in January 2010.

28 Aug 2009

Arno Therapeutics to commence Phase 1 clinical study of AR-12 in adult patients with lymphoma

Arno Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology therapeutics, today announced the dosing of the first patient in a Phase I clinical study of AR-12 (formerly OSU-03012) in adult patients with advanced or recurrent solid tumors or lymphoma.

28 Aug 2009

Tamoxifen drug poses increased risk of developing ER negative breast cancer

While long-term tamoxifen use among breast cancer survivors decreases their risk of developing the most common, less aggressive type of second breast cancer, such use is associated with a more than four-fold increased risk of a more aggressive, difficult-to-treat type of cancer in the breast opposite, or contralateral, to the initial tumor.

26 Aug 2009

Estrogen-dependent switch tempers killing activity of immune cells

The sex hormone estrogen tempers the killing activity of a specific group of immune cells, the cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), which are known to attack tumor cells and cells infected by viruses. The key player in this process is a cytotoxic T cell molecule which has been known for a long time and which scientists have named EBAG9.

10 Aug 2009

Breastfeeding appears to reduce risk of breast cancer among women with family history

Women with a family history of breast cancer appear to have a lower risk of developing the disease before menopause if they have ever breastfed a child, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Aug 2009

Tamoxifen kills fungus cells and may prevent them from causing disease

An FDA-approved drug used for preventing recurrence of breast cancer shows promise in fighting life-threatening fungal infections common in immune-compromised patients, such as infants born prematurely and patients with cancer. Some scientists suspected that tamoxifen has antifungal properties; now new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that it actually kills fungus cells and stops them from causing disease.

20 Jul 2009

Discovery of key protein for tumor suppression in ER+ breast cancer

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Jul 2009

Dramatic drop in deaths from most common cancers

The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

12 Jul 2009