Is it safe to take tamoxifen for 10 years?

A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine indicated clear evidence that 10 years of tamoxifen therapy does reduce local recurrence and improve breast cancer-free survival. However, it also reported that extended use (10 years rather than five) was linked with a two-fold increase in endometrial cancer.

What are the long term effects of tamoxifen?

Serious and life-threatening uterine malignancies, stroke, and pulmonary embolism have been associated with tamoxifen use in the risk reduction setting (women with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) and women at high risk for breast cancer). Some of these adverse events were fatal.

How long can you stay on tamoxifen?

Most people take tamoxifen or other hormone therapy for at least five years and sometimes up to 10 years. Treatment length depends on the features of your cancer diagnosis. Your healthcare provider may recommend taking tamoxifen for five years and then switching to different hormone therapy for several more years.

Why do you have to take tamoxifen for 5 years?

Women who took tamoxifen for 5 years had a 17 percent lower risk of cancer recurrence and a 9 percent lower risk of death from breast cancer than women who took tamoxifen for only 2 years. They also had a 30 percent lower risk of developing cancer in the contralateral (other) breast.

Does tamoxifen weaken your immune system?

Taking hormone therapy does not affect your immune system. Hormone therapies, including tamoxifen, letrozole, anastrozole, exemestane and goserelin, do not affect your risk of getting coronavirus or of becoming seriously ill if you do get it.

Should I take tamoxifen longer than five years?

Women who have not reached menopause (and whose ovaries are still producing estrogen) have been advised to take tamoxifen for a full five years. A new study (probably the one you read about) has found that taking tamoxifen longer than five years can further reduce deaths from the disease.

What to expect after tamoxifen?

On the low end of the scale, tamoxifen can cause nausea, hair loss, vomiting, bone pain, and weight gain. More seriously, it can contribute to the formation of blood clots and cataracts.

How effective is tamoxifen?

It’s only effective for some types of cancer. Studies have shown that tamoxifen can reduce the risk of cancer in high-risk women by more than 30%. But because the drug affects estrogen receptors in the body, it only works against cancers that are estrogen-receptor-positive or progesterone-receptor positive.

Why is tamoxifen after bilateral mastectomy?

Your oncologist is right with the treatment plan. Tamoxifen is known to cause increased disease free survival in patients with breast cancer after they have under gone mastectomy. It is also known to decrease the incidence of breast cancer in high risk group patients.

Is it safe to take tamoxifen for 10 years? A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine indicated clear evidence that 10 years of tamoxifen therapy does reduce local recurrence and improve breast cancer-free survival. However, it also reported that extended use (10 years rather than five) was linked with a two-fold increase…