Drug that Treats Breast Cancer may Up Womb Cancer Risk

Long-term use of tamoxifen therapy which treats breast cancer patients can increase the risk of developing endometrial (womb) cancer in women, reports a study. The findings of the study are published in the British Journal of Surgery.// There is clear evidence that extended adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for 10 years reduces local recurrence and improves breast cancer-free survival in women with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. An analysis of large randomized controlled trials, however, reveals that extended use is linked with a two-fold increased risk of developing endometrial (womb) cancer, when compared with standard 5 years of tamoxifen.

"There is a paucity of clear evidence on how we should best manage endometrial cancer risk in extended tamoxifen therapy. This is a research area that requires immediate focus with expansion of extended tamoxifen therapy regimes," said lead author Dr. Christina Fleming, of St. Vincent’s Hospital Group, in Dublin, Ireland.



Source-Eurekalert