Trials show drug prevents breast cancer
70% reduction in incidence reported
A new drug for the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women has the added benefit of reducing the incidence of breast cancer in women enrolled in ongoing osteoporosis studies by 50%, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Los Angeles.
Evista, raloxifene hydrochloride, manufactured by Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that acts like estrogen in some tissues but not in others. Researchers analyzed 7,705 women involved in a single osteoporosis study and found a 70% reduction in the inci dence of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer with approximately 33 months of follow-up.
Osteoporosis risk also reduced
In a separate analysis of an even larger Evista database, researchers found a 54% reduction in the incidence of newly diagnosed breast cancers with roughly 33 months of follow-up in 10,558 postmenopausal women enrolled in nine separate placebo-controlled osteoporosis prevention and treatment studies. In addition, women taking Evista had no increased risk for endometrial cancer.
Studies indicate Evista effectively prevents bone loss in the total body, lower spine, and hip, and it increases bone mineral density in those regions when compared to placebo. However, estrogen is still more effective in preventing bone loss and increasing bone mineral density. In addition, studies indicate that Evista reduces cholesterol and serum fibrogen levels.
Osteoporosis affects more than 28 million Americans, according to the National Osteoporo sis Foundation (NOF) in Washington, DC. A woman's risk of fracture, often related to osteoporosis, is greater than her combined risk of developing breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers, the NOF reports.
(Editor's note: Full prescribing information for Evista can be accessed on the World Wide Web at this address: www.evista.com.)
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