Millions of women should start taking hormonal drugs for at least ten years to reduce their risk of breast cancer from returning. Harvard researchers found that prescribing cheap medications for an extended period of time can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence by a third.
Most women who have had surgery to remove breast cancer tumors have been prescribed medication known as aromatase inhibitors. These drugs are prescribed for five years to prevent tumors from coming back, according to Daily Mail.
However, a study recently found out that taking them for another five years could massively increase its protective effects. Based on the study of 2,000 patients, women were less likely to have a recurrence of cancer by 34 percent and a less risk of dying by a fifth.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the drugs can reduce fatal recurrence not only in breast cancer patients but recurrence in general, according to Dr. Paul Goss, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Goss explains that this new prescription should become the new standard of care.
Hormonal drugs help protect women with the most common type of cancer known as estrogen positive. Since hormone estrogen fuels the growth of breast cancer, aromatase inhibitors block the action of estrogen, which consequently lowers the amount of estrogen mostly in post-menopausal women.
The two main types of aromatase inhibitors are letrozole, known by brand name Femara and anastrozole, known by brand name Arimidex. Younger patients, however, are typically prescribed with Tamoxifen, which is another type of aromatase inhibitor. Aside from stopping the production of aromatase, Tamoxifen also stops the estrogen from attaching to breast cancer cells, according to Cancer Research UK.
Unfortunately, many women experience a number of unpleasant side effects such as sleeping difficulties, osteoporosis and hot flushes. Some patients have reported serious side effects such as the increased risk of blood clots. Some women find the side effects too harsh that they stop taking the medication before the prescribed duration.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world with almost 1.7 million new diagnoses in a year. Breast cancer is also the second most common cancer overall, according to the World Cancer Research Fund.
