(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have discovered women treated with the
anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex) are less likely to have a heart attack
or experience symptoms of heart stress, such as angina.
Tamoxifen is a drug commonly taken by women previously diagnosed with breast
cancer. The drug has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence
by as much as 50 percent.
Earlier studies looking at the protective benefits of the drug have shown
tamoxifen reduces bad cholesterol levels. However, few studies have reported a
lower risk of heart disease for breast cancer patients treated with
tamoxifen.
Recently, researchers from Boston University’s School of Medicine and Public
Health conducted a study to evaluate whether tamoxifen reduces the risk of heart
disease. The medical records of 3,030 breast cancer patients treated with
tamoxifen and 4,233 patients with other cancers not treated with tamoxifen were
studied by the researchers.
The medical records revealed the women treated with tamoxifen were less
likely to develop heart disease than those who did not receive tamoxifen. The
benefit became pronounced within two years of taking tamoxifen and continued
throughout the recommended five years of therapy.
Authors conclude, “These data are consistent with the proposition that
treatment with tamoxifen for women with breast cancer may additionally lower a
woman’s risk of developing heart disease.”
SOURCE: To be published in an upcoming issue of CANCER
