New Research: Breast Cancer Medication Should Be Used for 10 Years

Women who have been treated for breast cancer should use specific medications for up to ten years to prevent the cancer from returning. Currently, women use these medications for five years. According to The Guardian, the results of a new extensive study indicate that five years is insufficient to combat recurrence and prevent the return of cancer, necessitating longer treatments for women who have survived breast cancer. Breast cancer, which is more commonly seen in women but affects about one percent of men, has become a widespread disease that transcends geographical borders, with approximately 1.7 million people diagnosed each year. Currently, women worldwide use hormonal medications after treatment to stop estrogen in the body and prevent cancer recurrence. However, due to the side effects of these medications and improvements in their condition, many individuals stop using them in the first few years. The research published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a major cancer drug conference in Chicago suggests that doctors should ask cancer survivors to use aromatase inhibitors for a full decade; aromatase inhibitors are a group of hormonal drugs used by women after breast cancer treatment. Currently, forty thousand women in the UK who have overcome common types of breast cancer use aromatase inhibitors annually. For women who have not yet reached menopause, another drug called tamoxifen is also prescribed. However, these drugs have strong side effects. For example, tamoxifen can cause side effects such as hot flashes, nausea, decreased libido, and rapid mood changes. Aromatase inhibitors can also lead to joint pain and bone fragility. Despite all these side effects, research shows that women who have taken tamoxifen for ten years are less likely to face cancer recurrence compared to those who used the drug for only five years. Other studies indicate that the possibility of breast cancer recurrence exists even up to twenty years after initial treatment; therefore, medication use is strongly recommended by doctors even after complete cancer treatment.