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Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms

Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more

Raloxifene, Tamoxifen Both Guard Against Breast Cancer

Posted 19 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 19 – The latest results from a landmark, long-running study find that both tamoxifen and raloxifene help prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women, although some differences are starting to emerge between the two drugs. Raloxifene (Evista), originally an osteoporosis drug, was less effective at preventing invasive breast cancer and more effective against noninvasive breast cancer than tamoxifen. But raloxifene compensated by having fewer side effects and a lower likelihood of causing uterine cancer than its older cousin. Both drugs work by interfering with the ability of estrogen to fuel tumor growth. "The results of this update are good news for postmenopausal women. It reconfirms that both of these drugs are very reasonable options to consider to reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women," said Dr. D. Lawrence Wickerham, associate chairman of the ... Read more

Medications That Lower Breast Cancer Risk Carry Other Dangers

Posted 2 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Sept. 14 – Medications given to women at high risk for developing breast cancer do reduce their cancer risk, but the drugs carry other health risks, a new analysis suggests. That was the conclusion of researchers who looked at numerous published studies, including randomized clinical trials and a head-to-head assessment of the medications used for risk reduction. Those include tamoxifen, raloxifene and tibolone. The third drug is not currently on the U.S. market but is available in other countries, and there is some research on its risk-reduction benefits. "We found that the three drugs actually did reduce the risk for invasive breast cancer by 30 to 68 percent," said review author Dr. Heidi D. Nelson, a research professor at Oregon Health & Science University. The report is published in the Sept. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. While the medications provided ... Read more

Breast Cancer Drugs May Fight Cervical Cancer, Too

Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 9 – Two drugs used to treat breast cancer and osteoporosis eliminated cervical cancer in mice, according to a new study. The drugs also cleared precancerous growths in the cervix and vagina, and prevented the onset of cancer in mice with precancerous lesions. The breast cancer drug fulvestrant and the breast cancer/osteoporosis drug raloxifene were given to mice genetically engineered to carry human papillomavirus (HPV) 16, which is strongly associated with cervical cancer. Both drugs prevent estrogen from working in cells. Fulvestrant is marketed for women as Faslodex, and raloxifene is marketed as Evista. The study appears in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We have begun to test whether the drugs are as effective in treating cervical cancer in human cells as they are in our mice," senior study author Dr. Paul F. Lambert, an ... Read more

Related support groups: Evista, Cervical Cancer, Faslodex, Raloxifene, Fulvestrant

FDA Medwatch Alert: Counterfeit Drugs Purchased in Mexico

Posted 11 May 2005 by Drugs.com

The FDA warned the public about the sale of counterfeit versions of Lipitor, Viagra, and an unapproved product promoted as "generic Evista" to U.S. consumers at pharmacies in Mexican border towns. The "generic Evista" was analyzed by FDA in coordination with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and was found to contain no active ingredient. The counterfeit Lipitor and counterfeit Viagra were analyzed by Pfizer, Inc. and were also found to contain no active ingredient. Consumers who have any of these counterfeit products should not use them and should contact their healthcare provider immediately. [May 10, 2005 - Talk Paper - FDA] Read more