25 active volunteers with about 10 languages among them are the guides. We began by asking Sue about the aborted tamoxifen study. This was, as our readers know, a breast cancer prevention trial. The study began five years ago in the States. Sue gave us some background on the drug.
Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen drug used to treat cancer.
Survivors in the study had to have a tumour that was estrogen receptor positive. In general, it can be said that for breast cancer tumours, they either respond to estrogen or they don't. It is seen as a hormonal disease. Tamoxifen is an estrogen blocker. There is actually an estrogen receptor status test.