(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Anti-estrogen therapy for breast cancer may also
reduce the risk of death from lung cancer.
"We found a reduction in lung cancer mortality among women treated with
anti-estrogens for breast cancer," Elisabetta Rapiti, M.D., M.P.H., medical
researcher with the Geneva Cancer Registry at the University of Geneva,
Switzerland, was quoted as saying. "This work builds on previous studies that
had suggested estrogens have a role in lung cancer development and progression."
To evaluate whether anti-estrogen therapy for breast cancer patients reduced
their risk of subsequently developing and/or dying from lung cancer, Rapiti and
colleagues studied 6,715 women living in the Geneva canton of Switzerland who
were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1980 and 2003. Forty-six percent of
the women received anti-estrogen therapy, primarily tamoxifen.
By
the end of the study period, 40 cases of lung cancer had developed. Although
there was no difference in the incidence of developing lung cancer among women
with or without anti-estrogens, the risk of dying from lung cancer was
significantly lower among women who received anti-estrogen therapy.
"Our results are particularly relevant to the research agenda exploring
endocrine treatment(s) for lung cancer," said Rapiti. "If prospective studies
confirm our results and find that anti-estrogen agents improve lung cancer
outcomes, this could have substantial implications for clinical practice."
SOURCE: Presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December
9-13, 2009
