Loading...
About 10 million U.S. women (age range, 35–79) are at high risk for breast cancer — and in about 2.4 million, tamoxifen's benefits outweigh excess risks for endometrial cancer, cataracts, pulmonary embolism, and menopausal symptoms. But how many women who could benefit from tamoxifen for primary breast cancer prevention use this agent? To address this question, researchers analyzed data from women (age range, 40–79) with no personal histories of breast cancer who participated in the 2000 and 2005 National Health Interview Survey.
Prevalence of reported prophylactic tamoxifen use was 27 of 10,601 women without breast cancer histories in 2000 and 8 of 10,690 women in 2005. Based on these data, the estimated national prevalence for tamoxifen us…