Breast Cancer Prevention Drugs Come With Risks
Sunday October 25, 2009
Print This- Select Text Size:
Comments
advertisement
The most common side effects for tamoxifen are flushing and other vasomotor symptoms (e.g., night sweats, hot flashes), vaginal discharge and other vaginal symptoms such as itching or dryness; for raloxifene, side effects include vasomotor symptoms and leg cramps; and for tibolone, side effects include vaginal bleeding.
The report also found that each drug carried the risk of adverse effects. It found that tamoxifen increases risk for endometrial cancer, hysterectomies, and cataracts compared with the other drugs. Tamoxifen and raloxifene increase risk of blood clots, although tamoxifen’s risk is greater. Tibolone carries an increased risk of stroke.
The report called for more research to more clearly identify characteristics of patients who would benefit from these drugs while suffering the least harm.
More information, including the new report, can be found at www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.
To comment, e-mail editorNTL@gannetthg.com.
Reader Comments
Login
Be the first to comment!