Jacky Law
See book keywords and concepts |
 When a trial showed the latest breast cancer drug had beaten the gold standard tamoxifen, a British newspaper wrote:
The announcement will trigger great demand for the drug, anas-trozole, in Britain and inevitably lead to a big hike in the NHS drugs bill once it is licensed. tamoxifen costs around £25 to £30 a year per patient, compared to £1,000 for anastrozole. With at least 100,000 women taking tamoxifen at any time, the switch could cost £100 million.39
Tamoxifen shows how if medicine moves forward in small, incremental steps, prices take strides in an ever steeper ascent. |
Andreas Moritz
See book keywords and concepts |
 Consider the anti-cancer drugs that cause cancer. tamoxifen, for example, is a common drug prescribed to high-risk women to prevent breast cancer, and it is usually taken for five years. However, research conducted in Israel found that tamoxifen can cause cancer instead. According to a study published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, the treatment of breast cancer with tamoxifen results in an increased risk of uterine cancer incidence and mortality. Merely substituting one cancer for another is not a treatment option that should be offered to cancer patients. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
See book keywords and concepts |
 Moreover, there is the additional concern that tamoxifen raises the risks for stroke, uterine cancer, cataracts, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, although the overall benefits of breast cancer prevention are still believed to outweigh the risks.42 Other chemicals have also been investigated as alternatives to tamoxifen, but these drugs are encumbered by limited effectiveness and/or some of the same troublesome side effects.45,46
Drugs such as tamoxifen and its newer analogues are considered anti-estrogen drugs. |
Elaine Magee
See book keywords and concepts |
 In animal studies, flaxseed increased the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, but no clinical trials on the flaxseed interaction with tamoxifen, or other breast cancer drugs, have been conducted on breast cancer patients. German research, meanwhile, has linked plant lignan intake and a reduced risk of breast cancer. Studies there have found that premenopausal women eating a high level of lignans experienced a 64 percent reduction in breast cancer risk.
Food sources of lignans besides ground flaxseed include whole grain cereals, berries, vegetables, and fruits in general. |
Andreas Moritz
See book keywords and concepts |
| However, research conducted in Israel found that tamoxifen can cause cancer instead. According to a study published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, the treatment of breast cancer with tamoxifen results in an increased risk of uterine cancer incidence and mortality. Merely substituting one cancer for another is not a treatment option that should be offered to cancer patients.
Prozac Scandal Revealed; Antidepressants
The most favored antidepressant drug to make people "happy" is Prozac (fluoxetine). In the U.S. |
Elaine Magee
See book keywords and concepts |
| In animal studies, flaxseed increased the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, but no clinical trials on the flaxseed interaction with tamoxifen, or other breast cancer drugs, have been conducted on breast cancer patients. German research, meanwhile, has linked plant lignan intake and a reduced risk of breast cancer. Studies there have found that premenopausal women eating a high level of lignans experienced a 64 percent reduction in breast cancer risk.
Food sources of lignans besides ground flaxseed include whole grain cereals, berries, vegetables, and fruits in general. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Clomiphene citrate used for infertility is essentially a SERM. tamoxifen is probably the most widely recommended SERM. It has been used for many years in breast cancer treatment. It improves skeletal bone density in the same way that estrogen works, by decreasing osteoclast activity, but it does have a significant stimulatory effect on endometrium and has increased endometrial cancer in patients.
The third and currently recommended osteoporosis treatment SERM is raloxifene (Evista). It differs from tamoxifen in that it has no activity on the endometrium. |
Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey
See book keywords and concepts |
 For example, like estrogen, tamoxifen stimulates uterine hyperplasia and suppresses bone remodeling, but unlike estrogen it inhibits estrogen actions at the breast. On the other hand, raloxifene has no effect on the endometrium, acts like estrogen on bone, and antagonizes estrogen action at the breast. Although several such molecules were introduced into clinical medicine before their mechanisms of action were clarified (e.g., tamoxifen), recent years have seen the development of numerous molecules in this class for the intended purpose of treating osteoporosis. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Gamma Linolenic Acid with tamoxifen as Primary Therapy in Breast Cancer. Int J Cancer; 85:643-648. 2000
Kerscher MJ & Korting HC. Treatment of atopic eczema with evening Primrose oil: rationale and clinical results. Clin Invest; 70(2): 167-171. 1992
Khoo SK, Munro C & Battistutta D. Evening Primrose oil and treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Med J Aust; 153(4): 189-192. 1990
Makrides M, Neumann MA, Simmer K et al. Erythrocyte fatty acids of term infants fed either breast milk, standard formula, or formula supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturates. Lipids; 30(10):941-947. |
Stacy Malkan
See book keywords and concepts |
 The co-founder and major sponsor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is AstraZeneca (formerly known as Zeneca), a British-based multinational giant that manufactures the cancer drug tamoxifen, the most widely prescribed breast cancer drug. Until 2000, the company was also a leading manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, including the carcinogenic pesticide acetochlor. When Zeneca created National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985, it was owned by Imperial Chemical Industries, a multi-billion-dollar producer of pesticides, paper and plastics. |
Michael Friedman, ND
See book keywords and concepts |
 Modulation of cancer endocrine therapy by melatonin: A phase two study of tamoxifen plus melatonin in metastic breast cancer patients progressing under tamoxifen alone. BrJ Cancer 1995;71:854-56.
68. Cutando A, Silvestre FJ. Melatonin: Implications at the oral level. Bull Group Int Rech Sci Stomatol Odontol 1995;38:81-86.
69. Maestroni GJ. The immunoneuroendocrine role of melatonin.J Pineal Res 1993;14(1):1-10.
70. Armstrong SM, Redman JR. Melatonin: A chronobiotic with anti-aging properties? Med Hypotheses 1991;34(4):300-09.
71. Poon AM, Liu ZM, Pang CS, Brown GM, Pang SF. |
| Used in conjunction with tamoxifen to modulate cancer endocrine therapy, melatonin shows marked ability to modulate estrogen receptor expression and inhibit breast cancer cell growth. Moreover, researchers surmised that melatonin may induce objective tumor regressions in metastatic breast cancer patients refractory to tamoxifen alone.67
IMMUNE SYSTEM
When properly administered, melatonin has general stimulatory effects on immune system functions; its positive anti-cancer effects may stem from this strengthening of the immune response. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Anticancer Effects: GLA may be a useful adjunct to primary tamoxifen treatment in endocrine-sensitive breast cancer; however, larger trials are needed to fully determine its role. Evening Primrose oil proved ineffective in the treatment of hepatic carcinoma (van der Merwe et al, 1990).
Arthritis Effects: Positive effects of Evening Primrose o^l on arthritis are not statistically evident. |
| Seventy percent of patients were on tamoxifen or raloxifene. The women were split into 2 groups; group 1 (n=87) received Soy 600 mg (with 50 mg Soy isoflavones including 40% to 45% genistein, 40% to 45% diadzein, and 10% to 20% glycitein) 3 times daily for 4 weeks and then placebo for 4 weeks. Group 2 (n=88) received placebo for 4 weeks and then Soy for 4 weeks. Response criteria were based on a hot flush patient questionnaire from baseline to 9 weeks. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 The selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are another drug class for osteoporosis, which includes tamoxifen and raloxifene (Evista). Although they do improve bone density, they pose a significant risk of blood clots.
Nutrients depleted: Because bisphosphonates push calcium into the bones, blood levels of this mineral—which also plays a role in muscle contraction and relaxation—can be depleted if dietary intake is too low. Essentially, these bone-building drugs have a calcium-depleting effect. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
See book keywords and concepts |
| John's Wort and tamoxifen.
Trazodone: Concurrent use may result in an increased risk of serotonin syndrome (hypertension, hyerthermia, myoclonus, mental status changes). Clinical Management: Avoid concomitant use of St. John's Wort and trazodone. Given the half-life of trazodone of up to 15 hours, St. John's Wort should be avoided for at least 5 half-lives (3 days) following trazodone discontinuation.
MODERATE RISK
Aminoleuvulinic acid: Concurrent use may result in increased risk of phototoxic reaction. Clinical Management: Avoid concomitant use of St. John's Wort and aminolevulinic acid. |
Jacky Law
See book keywords and concepts |
| With at least 100,000 women taking tamoxifen at any time, the switch could cost £100 million.39
Tamoxifen shows how if medicine moves forward in small, incremental steps, prices take strides in an ever steeper ascent. The drug is a British invention that has been used for more than 20 years with huge success, cutting in half the number of women whose breast cancers returned after treatment. Its performance is now outclassed on virtually every measure by the latest so-called aromatase inhibitors, of which anastrozole is just one. |
Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 In a preliminary trial, breast cancer patients were studied who previously had responded either not at all or only temporarily to treatment with the drug tamoxifen.182 During the trial, these women were given tamoxifen again, this time with added melatonin. Blood levels of IGF-1, a marker for progression of breast cancer, declined significantly. Of fourteen patients, four showed evidence of tumor shrinkage that lasted an average of eight months.
Most cancer trials studying the effects of melatonin have used 20 mg of melatonin per 24 hours, all taken at bedt tme. |
Michael Castleman
See book keywords and concepts |
 Her oncologist also urged her to take tamoxifen, a drug that reduces risk of recurrences. But tamoxifen also impairs fertility, and Sorenson, who had no children, wanted to keep that option open.
"I agonized over the decision and finally decided not to take the tamoxifen, but I kept worrying that I'd made a bad decision," she recalls. Then she went to Commonweal, and in a seminar on cancer care, learned that even without tamoxifen, by European standards, she'd already been treated fairly aggressively. "That eased my mind," she says. |
Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen (Nolvadex), is given to breast cancer patients whose disease is categorized as estrogen-receptor positive; other breast cancer patients generally do not receive tamoxifen. Some advanced breast cancer patients who have estrogen receptor-positive disease are also given aromatase-inhibitor drugs, which interfere with the body's ability to make estrogen. These drugs include letrozole (Femara), anastrozole (Arim-idex), formestane (Lentaron), vorazole (Rizivor), and exemestane (Aromasin). |
Andreas Moritz
See book keywords and concepts |
| According to a study published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, the treatment of breast cancer with tamoxifen results in an increased risk of uterine cancer incidence and mortality. Merely substituting one cancer for another is not a treatment option that should be offered to cancer patients.
Prozac Scandal Revealed; Antidepressants
The most favored antidepressant drug to make people "happy" is Prozac (fluoxetine). In the U.S., it is now used by millions of people to cope with stressful living conditions. This may lead people to believe that the drug is safe. |
Bill Sardi
See book keywords and concepts |
 Data are contradictory, with lab dish studies reporting both the estrogenic stimulation of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells and well as antagonism of tamoxifen activity at physiological phytoestrogen concentrations. Conversely, phytoestrogen ingestion by rodents is associated with the development of less aggressive breast tumors with reduced metastatic potential. Despite the present ambiguity, current data do suggest a potential benefit from use of phytoestrogens in breast cancer chemoprevention and therapy. |
| In animals that had their ovaries removed, soy initially inhibited and then stimulated breast cancer cell growth, in a manner similar to tamoxifen. However, the combination of flaxseed and soy did not stimulate breast cancer growth. [International Journal Cancer March 23, 2006 online]
Digitalis and breast cancer
An interesting group of studies come to light. Digitalis is a drug often prescribed for heart failure. Digitalis is a molecule of similar structure to estrogen. |
| Flaxseed lignans do more than just block the hormone receptor sites on living cells like tamoxifen does. |
| Flaxseed does not have any of the drawbacks of tamoxifen or pharmaceutical aromatase inhibitors and is inexpensive. The superiority of lignan compounds was recently demonstrated in a laboratory test which revealed their ability to inhibit DNA mutation and to chelate iron. [Free Radical Research 31: 149-60, 1999]
While whole grains and flaxseed are rich in IP6 phytate, this natural grain and seed component may only serve to help prevent rather than treat existing tumors. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Patients included those diagnosed with melanoma, uterine cervix carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, hept-ocarcinoma, ovarian cancer, small cell cancer, or unknown primary tumor. tamoxifen 20 mg and melatonin 20 mg were given daily. In 3 patients (12%) a partial response was seen. Stable disease was observed in 13 patients (52%) with the remaining 9 patients demonstrating progressive disease. No toxicity was seen (Lissoni et al, 1996b). |
Devra Davis
See book keywords and concepts |
 Other parts of the same firm, such as AstraZeneca, are renowned for the development of drugs like tamoxifen, one of the most widely prescribed cancer drugs in the world today.
The best wars, to take an ironic line from President McKinley's secretary of state, are short, splendid little affairs, all pageantry and little fighting. The protracted war on cancer has been none of the above. How did we get to this point?
Nearly forty years and more than $69 billion of taxpayer monies since the war on cancer was officially launched in the United States, many forms of the disease remain devastating. |
Michael Castleman
See book keywords and concepts |
| Her oncologist also urged her to take tamoxifen, a drug that reduces risk of recurrences. But tamoxifen also impairs fertility, and Sorenson, who had no children, wanted to keep that option open.
"I agonized over the decision and finally decided not to take the tamoxifen, but I kept worrying that I'd made a bad decision," she recalls. Then she went to Commonweal, and in a seminar on cancer care, learned that even without tamoxifen, by European standards, she'd already been treated fairly aggressively. "That eased my mind," she says. |
Bottom Line Health
See book keywords and concepts |
| Study Proves tamoxifen Prevents and Treats Breast Cancer
Bernard Fisher, MD, founding member and director, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, Pittsburgh.
Claudine Isaacs, MD, director, Clinical Breast Cancer Program, and associate professor of medicine and oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Cancer Biology and Therapy. |
Email this page to a friend
