Tamoxifen is a potent hormone therapy to treat breast hormone receptor-positive cancer. It is a great way to reduce the risk of in the future and also the risk of invasive cancer. Certain people take Tamoxifen to reduce the chance to develop breast cancer. The oral medication that is used daily blocks cancer cells from making use of progesterone and estrogen to expand and grow.
What is Tamoxifen?
Tamoxifen citrate is an anti-hormone drug that is used to treat hormone receptor positive (hormone-positive) breast cancer. It can also aid in preventing breast cancer. As of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tamoxifen in 1998, it has been an extremely frequently utilized breast cancer treatments.
What's hormone receptor positive breast cancer?
Breast cancer tumors with hormone receptors require hormones like progesterone and estrogen (or occasionally both) to expand. Around 75 percent of breast cancers are hormone positive for post-menopausal patients. The healthcare professional will perform an examination and biopsy to determine the type of cancer and the most efficient treatment.
How does tamoxifen work?
Tamoxifen is a kind of hormonal therapy that is known as selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). It binds with hormone receptors (specific proteins) within tumor cells of the breast. Once the drug is in those cells it prevents the cancer from getting access to the hormones it needs to grow and multiply.
Who should be using Tamoxifen?
Tamoxifen is a treatment for both men and women suffering from hormone receptor positive breast cancer. The drug may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in:
- Women at high risk for breast cancer due to the family history of disease or changed (changed) tumors in the breast (BRCA) gene.
- Men and women who have had breast cancer diagnosed, to be on the lookout for the recurrence (return) from cancer such as:
- Breast cancer is developing in the opposite breast.
- Breast cancer recurrence after treatment, chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
- Your doctor will decide whether tamoxifen is the right choice for you.
How effective is tamoxifen?
Millions of people have tried Tamoxifen for the purpose of preventing or treating breast cancer. Tamoxifen may reduce the possibility of:
- Breast cancer on the opposite breast increases by 50 50%.
- Recurrence of breast cancer in premenopausal women increases by 30 to 50 percent.
- Recurrence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women is between 40% and 50 to 80%.
- Breast cancer detection at the beginning of the process can be as much as 40 percent.
- Breast cancer that is invasive after diagnosis of noninvasive, early-stage cancers of breast (ductal cancer in situ, or DCIS) can be reduced by up to 50 percent.
What are the additional advantages of taking Tamoxifen?
Alongside reducing risks of developing breast cancer and recrudescence, tamoxifen. Read the guide on what is tamoxifen.
Helps prevent bone loss (osteoporosis) following menopausal changes.
Reduces levels of cholesterol.
How long do you need to take Tamoxifen?
The majority of people are taking tamoxifen or any other hormone therapy for at minimum five years, and occasionally even 10 years. The length of treatment depends on the characteristics of the cancer diagnosis.
Your doctor may suggest taking tamoxifen over five years before switching to another hormone therapy for a few more years.
Is Tamoxifen safe to consume in the course of pregnancy?
Tamoxifen may cause birth defects. It is not recommended to take the drug when you're expecting or planning to be pregnant. To avoid pregnancy, speak with your doctor regarding alternatives to nonhormonal birth control. (Hormonal contraceptives may contribute to the development of breast cancers that are hormone positive). It is necessary to take contraceptives during the time you are taking tamoxifen as well as for two months following the time you have stopped taking the drug.
