SAN ANTONIO – New life for old medicine: Women aged under 75 years with breast intraepithelial neoplasms (IEN) who took tamoxifen for 3 years at a dose of 5 mg per day – one-fourth the standard dose – had a 50% reduction in risk of IEN recurrence and an even more remarkable 75% reduction in the risk of contralateral breast cancer, compared with women who took placebos in the TAMO1 study.
Despite concerns about the known side effects of tamoxifen, there were no significant differences in either the rate of endometrial cancer or of deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism between groups, and there was only a borderline increase in hot flashes among patients randomized to tamoxifen, reported Dr. Andrea De Censi, MD, from Ospedali Galliera in Genoa, Italy.
In a video interview, Dr. De Censi discusses how tamoxifen, a decades-old, inexpensive drug still offers real clinical benefit in day-to-day practice for patients with IEN.
The TAM01 study was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health, Italian Association for Cancer Research, and the Italian League Against Cancer. Dr. De Censi and his coauthors reported having no direct conflicts of interest.