TAMOXIFEN HELPS OLDER WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER.Byline: Jacqueline Stenson Medical Tribune News Service Elderly women with advanced breast cancer respond as well to treatment with the cancer drug tamoxifen tamoxifen (təmŏk`sĭfĕn'), synthetic hormone used in the treatment of breast cancer. Introduced in 1978, tamoxifen is used to prevent recurrences of cancer in women who have already undergone surgery to remove their tumors. as do younger women, a new study shows. Because elderly women often are excluded from clinical trials, data on how well they respond to various cancer therapies is limited. But this type of information is needed, as the number of elderly women with breast cancer has been increasing over the last few decades - primarily because women are living longer, said study author Dr. James N. Ingle in·gle n. 1. An open fire in a fireplace. 2. A fireplace. [Perhaps Scottish Gaelic aingeal, fire, light. of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic: see Mayo, Charles Horace. Mayo Clinic voluntary association of more than 500 physicians in Rochester, Minnesota. [Am. Hist.: EB, 11: 723] See : Medicine in Rochester, Minn. In the study of 396 women with breast cancer that had spread to other areas, those 65 or older who were treated with tamoxifen had similar response rates to the drug, and had a similar overall survival rate compared to younger women who received the same treatment. The study demonstrates that "elderly women seem to do very well," said Ingle, whose report appears in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Cancer. Tamoxifen has a chemical structure similar to the hormone estrogen, which is needed for some breast cancers to grow. Because of this similarity, the drug latches on to estrogen receptors in tumor cells, preventing estrogen from fueling the tumor cells' growth. Overall, tamoxifen therapy was well-tolerated by women of all ages, the study showed. Side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. - most commonly hot flashes hot flashes Hot flush Gynecology A symptom afflicting 80-85% of middle-aged ♀, first occurring during the perimenopause, continuing with ↓ intensity for yrs, manifesting itself as transient waves of erythema and uncomfortable warmth beginning in the - also occurred at generally similar rates. However, the elderly women were more likely to suffer anorexia and mood changes than their younger counterparts, for reasons that are unclear, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the report. While doctors most likely consider tamoxifen a first-line therapy for elderly women with advanced breast cancer, there has been little research showing that the treatment benefits these women, said Dr. Bonnie S. Reichman, director of medical oncology at Strang Cancer Prevention Center in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . In fact, few studies have looked at any type of cancer treatment in elderly people, she said. |
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