Breast cancer prevention drugs 'underused

Women at high risk of breast cancer will follow drugs has been shown to reduce the risk of the disease, experts say.

Only a small percentage of women at high risk of breast cancer using drugs that could reduce their chances of developing the disease by up to 40 percent, according to the authors of an article published in the Medical Journal this month's Australia.

Although there are strong indications that the selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) may reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at high or moderate risk, few women are the ones you use, the article states.

Fewer than three percent of 3788 women at high risk of breast cancer enrolled in a national study had used SERMs, like tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, the article reported.

Associate Professor Kelly Phillips of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne and the other co-authors of the article, said that more education on medicines they need.

education and decision support for clinicians can help to reduce the controversy surrounding the use of SERMs for the prevention of breast cancer and ultimately reduce the incidence of breast cancer," they wrote.

They said concerns about the side effects were a potential obstacle to recruitment and rare side effects may be overestimated. Tamoxifen, for example, doubles the risk of blood clots in pre-menopausal women. However, the article states that the "absolute risk" is similar to that of women taking oral contraceptive pill.

Aritcle source:-http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8388070