Why does BCAM discourage healthy women from taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer?
As with other drugs, there are side effects to tamoxifen risk of blood clots in the lungs, cancer of the lining of the uterus (endometrial cancer), and hot flashes. Nor do we know much about possible long-term effects of this drug. Although it has proved useful in reducing recurrence of breast cancer for women who have already had some experience with this disease, giving tamoxifen to women who have not had breast cancer, and who are not at particular risk, invites “disease substitution” a condition induced while trying to avoid a disease. In other words, the benefits rarely outweigh the risks. As it stands now, women who take tamoxifen following surgery for breast cancer, are advised to discontinue the drug after a maximum of five years. If healthy women are given tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer, but go on to develop the disease, they may be immune to any benefits following initial treatment. Does tamoxifen merely delay the onset of cancer? How will taking it while healthy affect l
