How long should a patient take tamoxifen to treat breast cancer?
Patients with advanced breast cancer may take tamoxifen for varying lengths of time, depending on their response to this treatment and other factors. When tamoxifen is used as adjuvant therapy for early-stage breast cancer, it is generally prescribed for 5 years. However, the ideal duration of tamoxifen treatment is unknown.
How often should I take tamoxifen?
Two studies confirmed the benefit of using adjuvant tamoxifen daily for 5 years. These studies compared 5 years of tamoxifen treatment with 10 years of treatment. When used for 5 years, the drug reduces the risk of recurrence of the original breast cancer and also reduces the risk of a second primary cancer in the other breast. Taking tamoxifen for more than 5 years is not more effective than 5 years of treatment.
What is Tamoxifen?
Tamoxifen is an oral selective estrogen receptor modulator used in the treatment of breast cancer and is currently the best-selling breast cancer treatment worldwide. It is used to treat early and advanced breast cancer in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. It is also approved by the FDA to reduce the incidence of breast cancer in women at high risk of developing the disease. It was also approved for the reduction of contralateral (in the opposite breast) breast cancer.
Tamoxifen can:
Reduce the risk of breast cancer returning by 40% to 50% in postmenopausal women and by 30% to 50% in premenopausal women
Reduce the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast by about 50%
Tamoxifen and cancer
Tamoxifen is used to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who:
1. Have a high risk of breast cancer but have no personal history of the disease
2. You have hormone receptor-positive non-invasive breast cancer
3. Have hormone receptor-positive invasive breast cancer at any stage.
Tamoxifen is sometimes used to treat gynecomastia in men. Tamoxifen is also used by bodybuilders in a steroid cycle to try to prevent or reduce gynecomastia caused by steroid drugs that are used in the same cycle.
Tamoxifen is also used to treat infertility in women with An ovulation disorders. A dose of 10-40 mg per day is given on days 3-7 of a woman's cycle.
How is tamoxifen taken?
Tamoxifen is in tablet form.
It may occasionally be prescribed as a liquid for people who have difficulty swallowing.
The recommended dose for most people is 20 mg per day.
It is best to take it at the same time every day.
If you miss a dose, you do not need to take it the next day. The level of the drug in your body will remain high enough from the previous day.
Some versions of tamoxifen contain small amounts of lactose. If you know you are lactose intolerant, discuss this with your healthcare team or pharmacist.
Is tamoxifen safe to take during pregnancy?
Tamoxifen can cause birth defects. You should not take the medicine if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. To prevent pregnancy, talk to your healthcare provider about non-hormonal birth control options. (Hormonal birth control may promote the growth of hormone-positive breast cancer). You will need to use birth control while taking tamoxifen and for two months after stopping treatment.
Adverse effects of tamoxifen
Like any medicine, tamoxifen can cause side effects. Everyone reacts to drugs differently. Some people will have more side effects than others, while others will have no side effects.
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