Taking This Breast Cancer Medicine Can Double Womb Cancer Risk
Tamoxifen the medicine, which have been used by thousands of women across the world, have been shown to double the risk of womb cancer.
Tamoxifen, a drug used primarily for breast cancer has been causing a great deal of concern among the medical community. The medicine, which have been used by thousands of women across the world, have been shown to double the risk of womb cancer. New research says that the drug, if used for more than 10 years, can raise women’s risk of endometrial cancer from 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent. A boon for one is a bane for another.
According to the National Library of Medicine, tamoxifen, is a medicine that blocks the effects of oestrogen in the body, which stimulates the growth of cancer in the breast. The drug is also used to treat women who have a high risk of developing breast cancer. Back in 2013, the drug was praised for its role in the prevention of cancer.
But the findings of the new research published in the British Journal of Surgery paints a completely different picture. It shows that while the drug prevents oestrogen in the breast tissue, it stimulates endometrial cancer in the womb by mimicking the effects of the hormone.
The researchers at St. Vincent’s Hospital Group in Dublin analysed previous studies that investigated the connection between people who took tamoxifen and those who had endometrial cancer before coming to the conclusion.
The study goes on to say that taking the drug for five years can raise the risk by two percent. With the new findings, health experts are urging for a womb cancer screening in all the women who have taken the drug for more than 10 years.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2018 07:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).