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.

Recent evidence suggests caution in prescribing hormone therapy for breast cancer

One of the most effective new treatments for breast cancer is a hormone therapy. Aromatase inhibitors work by powerfully blocking the conversion of androgen precursors into estrogens, which lowers estradiol levels in the bloodstream and estrogen levels in peripheral tissues.

4 Sep 2005

Researchers find drug targets for treating metabolic syndrome

Ongoing studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and other institutions have uncovered the biochemical basis of many of the factors contributing to what is known as the metabolic syndrome, suggesting potential new drug targets for treating the condition.

11 Aug 2005

Switching treatment to the drug anastrozole after two years of tamoxifen is beneficial for women with early breast cancer

Switching treatment to the drug anastrozole after two years of tamoxifen can improve eventfree survival for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, concludes a study in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

4 Aug 2005

Benign breast disease - not necessarily an indicator of higher breast cancer risk

According to a new study, women diagnosed with a form of benign breast disease, but who do not have a strong family history of breast cancer, have no heightened risk of developing a tumor.

21 Jul 2005

Approval sought for Femara in early post-surgery use

Approval is being sought in the U.S. and Europe, by Swiss drug makerNovartis, for its breast-cancer drug Femara to be used immediately after surgery to help older women fight tumours.

12 Jul 2005

European women soon to have access to new breast cancer drug

European women suffering from breast cancer will soon have access to the breast cancer drug Arimidex after British authorities granted approval for the drug to be used in a wider range of European women with breast cancer.

29 Jun 2005

Study clarifies risk of recurrence for high-risk breast cancer patients

High-risk breast cancer patients do not appear to have a higher risk of relapse than the general breast cancer population during the first two years after diagnosis, unless their cancer has spread to more than 10 axillary lymph nodes, Italian researchers reported at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

6 Jun 2005

High-dose Tamoxifen may prolong survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Neurologist Benjamin Brooks, who directs the MDA ALS Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented results of a trial of tamoxifen, a drug approved for the treatment of breast cancer, at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April. The trial was supported in part by MDA.

23 May 2005

Postmenopausal women who follow a low-fat diet have 24 percent less chance of a recurrence of breast cancer

The study by Rowan T. Chlebowski and colleagues at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, involved 2,437 women aged 48 to 79 who were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and were treated at several medical centers. All the women had the standard treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy and or tamoxifen therapy.

17 May 2005

Tamoxifen study counters hopes that drug might protect the heart

Despite previous studies hinting at tamoxifen's potential benefit for breast cancer survivors' heart health, California researchers have found that the breast cancer drug does not decrease survivors' risk of heart attack.

15 May 2005

Research findings help predict risk of blood clots in women receiving tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer

New research findings may help physicians determine which women have an increased risk of blood clots when taking tamoxifen for the management of breast cancer, a team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators will report at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

15 May 2005

Great news for breast cancer patients

In encouraging new study results researchers say that modern treatments have significantly boosted the 15-year survival rate for breast cancer, and even better news is that they have also found that drug and hormonal therapies effectively cure many women, rather than simply delaying the recurrence of disease.

12 May 2005

Researchers develop promising new gene network analysis method

Compared with a long-used linear model, a correlation-based statistical method is a more reliable way to map complex gene interactions and pinpoint genes that may be potential cancer treatment targets, according to new Brown University research.

8 May 2005

Dramatic difference between breast cancers in US and Africa

A study comparing, for the first time, breast cancers from Nigeria, Senegal and North America has found that women of African ancestry are more likely to be diagnosed with a more virulent form of the disease than women of European ancestry.

19 Apr 2005

Tamoxifen still not popular with women at risk of breast cancer

Tamoxifen still not popular with women at risk of breast cancer A new study has revealed that less than one in five women eligible to take tamoxifen decided to take the drug after being told of its risks and benefits.

11 Apr 2005

Estrogen, SERMS reduce asthma impact by halting constriction

For years, anecdotal evidence suggested that ovulating or pregnant women or post-menopausal women taking estrogen supplements, experienced fewer asthma attacks and less severe asthma symptoms, strongly suggesting that perhaps estrogen affects airway smooth muscle function by preventing the hyperresponsiveness characteristic of asthma and other chronic lung diseases.

3 Apr 2005

First North American trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer

Today, a new clinical trial evaluating a novel approach to breast cancer prevention launched in the United States and Canada. Called the ExCel research study, this is the first North American clinical trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer.

30 Mar 2005

Older women benefit from chemo to treat breast cancer

Age alone should not prohibit the use of chemotherapy regimens in older women with breast cancer who are otherwise in good general health, according to a study in the March 2 issue of JAMA.

1 Mar 2005

Under-active thyroid associated with reduced breast cancer risk

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that women with a common thyroid gland disorder appear to have a reduced chance of developing invasive breast cancer, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer, out online Feb. 14.

14 Feb 2005

Why estrogenic hormones produce unintended results in women

New research is shedding light on why estrogenic hormones produce unintended results in women, giving hope to the idea that new drugs might reach their targets and work more effectively. Ultimately it could mean that postmenopausal women would know that hormone-replacement therapy would have only its intended result.

13 Feb 2005