Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center recently studied women at high risk of breast cancer who were eligible for the drug. They developed custom decision aids explaining the risks and benefits of tamoxifen for each woman in the study.

Despite the availability of information about tamoxifen, most women in the study elected not to take the cancer-preventing drug. Of the 632 women in the study, 80% were worried about side effects. The study results were reported in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Senior author Peter Ubel, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan said:

“Experts have bemoaned the dearth of women taking these pills, worried that word has not gotten out about tamoxifen’s ability to prevent breast cancer in high risk women. Our study shows that even when the word does get out, most women are too concerned about the pill’s side effects to want to take it.”

Only 6% of women in the study said they were likely to take tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention. Three months later, fewer than 1% of women in the study had started taking the drug.

Tamoxifen’s side effects include:

• Increased risk of endometrial cancer and uterine sarcoma
• Increased risk of blood clots and cataracts
• More common side effects: symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, irregular menstrual periods, headaches, fatigue, nausea, vaginal dryness or itching

(Source: National Cancer Institute)

Note: Some of the side effects mentioned above are rare, and not all women experience all side effects. Visit cancer.gov for more information on tamoxifen studies and side effects. Tamoxifen is also used to treat breast cancer.

If you’ve declined tamoxifen, what were your reasons?

(Image via stock.xchng)

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Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer Prevention

For four years, researchers followed 1,659 women ages 47 to 59 years. They found that women who gained fat were more likely to suffer hot flashes.

Since heart disease is more of a threat to women after menopause, maintaining a proper weight is more important than ever. Plus, weight management may come with the added benefit of fewer hot flashes.

Unfortunately, the exact cause of hot flashes isn’t known, but experts think it has something to do with changes in circulation. If you suffer from hot flashes, stay cooler by avoiding stress and fabrics that don’t breath well. Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, hot beverages and spicy foods may help reduce severity of hot flashes.

(Image via flickr/MaryTClark)

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More Fat, More Hot Flashes

Apparently, men who are undergoing anti-hormonal treatment or androgen-deprivation therapy as treatment for prostate cancer, experience hot flashes as well.

The only current therapeutic agents for this condition are androgen-originating hormones. However, some of which can actually fuel the growth of cancer. Men may be relieved of hot flashes but new cancer growth becomes an issue to worry about.

Now, according to North Central Cancer Treatment Group researchers (based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.), low doses of the drug gabapentin can reduce hot flashes in this patient population of men.

…the drug gabapentin reduced the frequency and the intensity of hot flashes by up to 46 percent in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy.

The men who received gabapentin reported fewer side effects than those receiving a placebo tablet.

Gabapentin is being used to prevent epileptic seizures and to treat nerve pain caused by shingles.

According to the study’s lead investigator, Mayo Clinic oncologist Charles Loprinzi, M.D.:

“To my knowledge, this is the first nonhormonal treatment of hot flashes in men, where results from a placebo-controlled trial are positive enough to support that a nonhormonal medication can be used to help some of our patients.

Because gabapentin works on the central nervous system, its function may be similar to some antidepressants that are prescribed to reduce hot flashes in women entering menopause.

This [gabapentin] provides an immediate clinical option that has not been previously available for treatment of hot flash side effects, and it is a welcome one.”

The findings, presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, came from the 223-patient, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial on gabapentin.

Approved by the FDA to treat epileptic seizures in 1994 and pain from shingles in 2002, gabapentin is marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Neurontin®.

Find more details from the Mayo Clinic full report.

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Pfizer’s Neurontin® (gabapentin): Can Reduce Hot Flashes in Men on Prostate Cancer Treatment