It shows that the beneficial effects of the drug last years after the women stop taking it. The new figures were revealed at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels. The UK was one of the first countries to introduce Tamoxifen, and this has produced marked drop in cancer deaths compared to other European countries. No other country has seen such a big decrease in death rates. People did no think we would be seeing these kind of benefits after 10 years or 15 years.
Tamoxifen is probably the biggest single contributor to the fall in the death rate.
Experts have predicted that the long term survival rates will continue to increase in reaction to more widespread use of Tamoxifen over time. The drug works because some breast cancer cells, like breast cells, are responsive to the hormone oestrogen, and will grow and spread more vigorously in response to it. Tamoxifen obstructs the part of the cell which bonds with the hormone, stopping it having any effect on the cell. Sir Richard said that even small changes in the death rate were highly significant, as breast cancer remained an extremely common cancer, responsible for thousands of deaths a year. In the UK, more than 35,000 women are newly-diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and 13,000 die from the disease.