Tamoxifen is a drug that interferes with the activity of estrogen particularly in the mammary glands of women. It has been used to treat and prevent Breast Cancer (BC) for the past 3 decades. BC cells needs estrogen to grow. Without estrogen these cells are deprived of their vital nutrition and may die. This principle is used when Tamoxifen drug was formulated. Tamoxifen binds with the estrogen receptors in the breast thereby depriving breast cancer cells of vital protein in estrogen. To put it in layman's terms imagine an auditorium with a limited number of seats and assume the auditorium manager gives advance information to all the well behaved people and books their tickets. The auditorium gets filled with all the good guys the unruly bad elements who come late do not get a place inside. The show in the auditorium goes on without any trouble or untoward events. In this case the good guys are the molecules in the Tamoxifen which bind to estrogen receptors and the bad elements are the breast cancer cells. This process is also known as competitive antagonism.
Tamoxifen is effective only in estrogen receptor positive BC cases. It does not have any effect on progesterone receptor breast cancer and HER2/neu (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2)BC. But the good news is that almost 70% of all the breast cancer cases are Estrogen receptor positive ones and this drug can very effectively treat breast cancer and even prevent it well in advance.
But there is a major catch and use of this drug is not without a cost. No it does not pinch the wallet that much even if insurance does not cover it in some cases. Tamoxifen is off the patent since 2002. It is now classified as a generic drug. It's price has dropped drastically ever since. Even though Tamoxifen is very effective it is not commonly prescribed as a preventive medicine because of it's chronic side effects. This drug is known to trigger uterine or endometrial cancer in many women. The risk of developing this type of cancer is quadrupled even after using Tamoxifen for as low as 2 years. American Cancer Society has listed Tamoxifen as a known carcinogen. In many women this drug is known to cause a spurt in triglyceride levels as well as fatty liver syndrome. Needless to say these are not good for heart or liver.
Tamoxifen can have adverse effect on the central nervous. It can severely impair cognition and memory. A good number of patients who are prescribed this drug experience a severe drop in sexual drive and libido. As in case of any risky treatment a cost benefit assessment has to be made. Breast cancer is a serious and fatal disease. If Tamoxifen has been assessed to be very beneficial in a particular patient's case then it has to be used. There are well established preventive and alleviating treatments for the side effects caused by Tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen is effective only in estrogen receptor positive BC cases. It does not have any effect on progesterone receptor breast cancer and HER2/neu (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2)BC. But the good news is that almost 70% of all the breast cancer cases are Estrogen receptor positive ones and this drug can very effectively treat breast cancer and even prevent it well in advance.
But there is a major catch and use of this drug is not without a cost. No it does not pinch the wallet that much even if insurance does not cover it in some cases. Tamoxifen is off the patent since 2002. It is now classified as a generic drug. It's price has dropped drastically ever since. Even though Tamoxifen is very effective it is not commonly prescribed as a preventive medicine because of it's chronic side effects. This drug is known to trigger uterine or endometrial cancer in many women. The risk of developing this type of cancer is quadrupled even after using Tamoxifen for as low as 2 years. American Cancer Society has listed Tamoxifen as a known carcinogen. In many women this drug is known to cause a spurt in triglyceride levels as well as fatty liver syndrome. Needless to say these are not good for heart or liver.
Tamoxifen can have adverse effect on the central nervous. It can severely impair cognition and memory. A good number of patients who are prescribed this drug experience a severe drop in sexual drive and libido. As in case of any risky treatment a cost benefit assessment has to be made. Breast cancer is a serious and fatal disease. If Tamoxifen has been assessed to be very beneficial in a particular patient's case then it has to be used. There are well established preventive and alleviating treatments for the side effects caused by Tamoxifen.
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