Breast Cancer Drug Reduces Risk of Heart Disease
Reported February 15, 2005
(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 Universitys 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 womans risk of developing heart disease.
SOURCE: To be published in an upcoming issue of CANCER
