Findings from the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) trial, one of the largest breast cancer prevention clinical trials ever conducted, show that tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and raloxifene (Evista) both reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer (cancer that has spread into the surrounding breast tissue) by about 50% in women at high risk for the disease.
Surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes in women with mutations (changes) in certain breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) reduces the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, according to a long-term study. This reduction in risk varies according to the type of mutation. For example, women with mutations in the BRCA1 gene have a larger decrease in ovarian cancer risk following the surgery, while those with BRCA2 mutations have a larger decrease in breast cancer risk.
A new study from Finland shows that a vaccine (Gardasil) developed to prevent cervical cancer could also prevent cancers of the vagina and vulva associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus linked to cervical cancer. According to Jorma Paavonen, MD, Professor and Chief Physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki, and the study's lead author, HPV is present in 80% of the 6,000 cases of vaginal and vulvar cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
In a new study of people with stage III colon cancer, doctors from the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) research group found that taking aspirin regularly lowered the risk of recurrence (return of the cancer) and death by approximately 50%.
Results of a large phase II clinical trial show that a hormone drug called toremifene (Acopodene) lowers the risk of prostate cancer by nearly half for men with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN).
A study of more than 40,000 female veterans in the United States shows that the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins help reduce the risk of breast cancer by more than half.
Results of a new study show that raloxifene (Evista) is associated with lowering the risk of developing uterine (endometrial) cancer by 50%. Raloxifene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used to treat osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) and may lower the risk of breast cancer.
A phase III study led by the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) shows that letrozole (Femara) is more effective than tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in preventing breast cancer recurrence (return of the cancer).
A new study from the University of Michigan and CHS National Cancer Control Center in Israel suggests that statins may be protective against colorectal cancer.
A study of more than 5,000 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis shows that raloxifene (Evista), a drug used to treat bone loss, also lowers a woman's risk of estrogen receptor (ER) positive invasive breast cancer. These findings mark eight years of follow-up without any new safety concerns.
