Certain Drugs Prevent Breast Cancer: Health Experts

Taking certain medications can prevent breast cancer in women, some U.K. based health experts claim.

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in UK, following a five-year medication routine comprising of either tamoxifen or raloxifene can reduce the risk of breast cancer in women by 40 percent. However, both medicines are yet to receive official usage approval.

At present U.K. allows women at higher risks of breast cancer to undergo an annual screening and diagnosis and also regulates surgeries according to the urgency of the case.

The updated guidance from the Institute released June 25, announced making drug treatments available for postmenopausal women

The new guidelines from NICE re-confirm the effectiveness of tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer. NICE also expected to prevent breast cancer by three percent among women aged 35 and above.

"Although neither drug is licensed as a preventative treatment in the UK, clinical evidence shows they are an effective option for many women and could be preferable to surgery," Professor Mark Baker, Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said in a news release.

Women with a family history of breast cancer are always viewed at higher risks as the chances of inheriting such faulty genes from close family members are relatively high. Abnormalities in gene BRCA1 or BRCA2 cause breast cancer in such cases.

In the U.S., tamoxifen or nolvadex has long been used to treat advanced breast cancer (1977) and to prevent cancer recurrence (1990).  However, according to the Breastcancer.org, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved pill is not effective in treating hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. Raloxifene received FDA approval for cutting the risks of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women (both for women at high risks or osteoporosis) in Sep. 2007.