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Vienna (pte011/01.02.2005/10:15) - Scientists have discovered a drug that can take away menopausal symptoms among women who take the breast cancer therapy tamoxifen. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, tibolone is a safe way of giving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to reduce flushing without side effects for the breasts and womb, a European study has found. Although more trials will be needed, experts said the results were promising for women recovering from breast cancer. The findings of the study are published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Although women are often advised to take tamoxifen therapy to reduce the risk of cancer returning, it can make menopausal symptoms worse as it blocks oestrogen. However, breast cancer sufferers are not recommended to take conventional HRT as it could trigger cancer recurrence in the breast and new tumours in the womb. Tibolone is a newer hormone treatment that has "sparing" effects on particular parts of the body, such as the breast, unlike oestrogen.
A team of researchers, led by Ernst Kubista from the University of Vienna http://www.univie.ac.at investigated if tibolone would be beneficial to women taking tamoxifen and experiencing menopausal symptoms. They asked 75 women to take their tamoxifen as usual plus with tibolone or a dummy drug for a year. They then asked the women to keep a record about the number and severity of hot flushes and night sweats they experienced, as well as any other menopausal symptoms. The researchers also checked for any return of breast cancer or abnormal changes to the women's wombs. Although tibolone did not reduce the number of hot flushes the women experiences, it did reduce their severity compared with placebo, with no detrimental effects to the breast or womb.
"It gives women who have had breast cancer an option for taking away their horrible symptoms," said Janice Rymer, a consultant gynaecologist at Guy's Hospital in London and one of the study authors. "A lot of us have been using this drug anecdotally in this way." The researchers will conduct further research in more than 3,000 women to check the long-term safety of tibolone. "We hear from many people who find the menopausal symptoms brought on by tamoxifen distressing and at times unbearable," said Liz Cheesman, of Breast Cancer Care. "The results from this pilot study are very promising," she added.
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