Ever since Grandma battled breast cancer some thirty years ago, I have had an interest in this disease. It now appears there is another breakthrough in the prevention of breat cancer -- and it is from a drug that many women take to treat another common medical condition.

A drug used to prevent bones from thinning also offers millions of older women a powerful way to protect themselves against breast cancer, a large government-sponsored study has found.

The study of nearly 20,000 postmenopausal women found that raloxifene reduces their chance of developing breast cancer as effectively as tamoxifen, the only drug previously shown to reduce the risk, but is less likely to cause serious side effects such as uterine cancer and blood clots.

The findings indicate that raloxifene, sold under the brand name Evista, is a safer alternative for the estimated 9 million postmenopausal U.S. women at increased risk for breast cancer, experts said.

"This is good news for women," said Leslie Ford of the National Cancer Institute, which sponsored the $88 million study and released the preliminary findings early because of their public health implications. "Women now have a new option."

Because an estimated 500,000 women use raloxifene to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, many will be more comfortable using it for breast cancer protection, several experts predicted.

I hope that this treatment becomes common very quickly. Too many women I know have had to deal with this form of cancer in their lifetimes, and I would be happy to never hear them used in the present tense again.

Posted by: Greg at 10:08 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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