Word: breast
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...years ago there wasn't a pill in the world that had been proved to reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Today there are two: tamoxifen, which doctors have used for more than 25 years to treat breast tumors after they have formed; and raloxifene, a newer drug that was originally designed to prevent osteoporosis but that, according to a study in last week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, may also afford some protection against breast cancer...
Both drugs have been dubbed "designer estrogens" because they block estrogen's ability to promote tumor growth in the breast while at the same time mimicking the hormone's salutary effects on the spine. (About 75% of all breast cancers are estrogen-sensitive.) But they can also trigger serious side effects, including potentially fatal blood clots. So the good news about designer estrogens must always be tempered with some heavy-duty caveats...
Thus far only tamoxifen has been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for reducing the risk of breast cancer. But ever since preliminary data suggested that raloxifene might also help keep breast cancer at bay, the spotlight has been shifting toward the newer drug. Why? Because raloxifene, unlike tamoxifen, doesn't appear to increase a woman's risk of developing uterine cancer...
Last week's J.A.M.A. study seemed to tip the balance even further in raloxifene's favor. Researchers, led by Dr. Steven Cummings of the University of California at San Francisco, reported that taking the drug for 3 1/2 years reduced a woman's risk of developing breast cancer an average of 75%. By contrast, a study of tamoxifen completed last year showed that it reduced the incidence of breast cancer 45% over four years. As an added bonus, raloxifene also lowered the amount of LDL, or "bad cholesterol," in the blood...
CALLING ALL GIRLS Though breast cancer is a disease that afflicts adult women, researchers say the risks for developing it start piling up as early as the preteen years. Doctors can't explain why, but they found that girls who are relatively lean at age 10 and those who grow very rapidly during adolescence have a significantly increased risk for the disease. What to do? Not much, but at least make sure your daughter is eating right and exercising...