The largest breast cancer prevention study ever is now recruiting volunteers at more than 400 sites throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, including the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Results of that trial were announced last spring. Last fall, the Food and Drug Administration approved tamoxifen as a preventive agent in women at high risk for breast cancer. The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is very interested in the prevention of breast cancer, said Dr. Mark C. Kelley, principal investigator STAR at Vanderbilt, assistant professor of Surgery and clinical director of the Vanderbilt Breast Center. This is an important study because previous research suggest that both tamoxifen and raloxifene may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
More research is needed to determine which drug is most effective and has the fewest side effects.
Tamoxifen has been used for more than 20 years as a therapy to treat breast cancer. It works, in part, by interfering with the activity of estrogen, the female hormone that promotes growth of breast cancer cells. The BCPT was launched after research and treatment with tamoxifen suggested it also could reduce breast cancer occurrence. The study enrolled women at high risk for breast cancer because of age, a family history of their own medical history. After three years, the researchers found that the group taking tamoxifen had a 49 percent decrease in the incidence of breast cancer compared to the group taking the placebo.