Does Tamoxifen Prevent Breast Cancer?
Wondering About a Wonder Drug By SUSAN LOVE The New York Times August 3, 1999 For women with breast cancer or a high risk of developing it, the drug tamoxifen has been seen as a life saver. The drug is able to counter the cancer-promoting effects of the hormone estrogen, which has been shown to aid the growth of about half of breast cancers. But according to a new study, tamoxifen can reverse its colors and stimulate the growth of cancer cells after two to five years of use. These latest findings are troubling and confusing news for the many women who are taking the drug. Didn’t we just read reports that Tamoxifen should be given to healthy women to prevent breast cancer? What is going on here? What is going on is yet another example of the fact that medicine and science are a work in progress. In fact, this new research, done by scientists at Duke University Medical Center and the Novalon Pharmaceutical Corporation in Durham, N.C., does not contradict any of the previous studies. Rath
