One of the most prevalent diseases these days is breast cancer which both men and women suffer from at some stage in their lives. That’s the bad news but there’s also good news which is that there is a highly popular drug medication that’s used to address this discomforting and serious condition. When we hear cancer we automatically think the worst knowing that cancer really has no known cure. Read on and find out more about Tamoxifen and breast cancer.

Generic and brand names

Aswith all drug medications, generic and brand names are important in knowing and distinguishing the vast number of drug medications available on the market today.

Generic name Tamoxifen is also known by the brand names Nolvadex and Soltamox and belongs to a group of drug medications called SERM (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator).

FDA Approval

It’s touted as the oldest and most-prescribed drug medication but more important, it has the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used as a drug medication for treating:

  • Women and men who are diagnosed  with early stage breast cancer following surgery and perhaps  chemotherapy and radiation treatment to prevent reoccurrence of cancer being treated
  • Men and women found with advanced-stage disease.

Tamoxifen can also be used as medication for:

  • Reducing risk in women for getting breast cancer who have not been diagnosed as having the disease but have greater risk of getting the disease.

It’s worthwhile to note that Tamoxifen isn’t effective for treating patients with hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer.

Typical medication forms

Tamoxifen comes in two main forms:

  • a pill with the brand name Soltamox that’s taken once a day. This pill will be easier to swallow and easier to take by users who find pills repugnant and have issues swallowing other tamoxifen pills.
  • This alternative brand name will enable you to stay the course on your treatment plan.

When to take and not to take

Most physicians have recommended that tamoxifen should be taken at the same time each day.

You should avoid taking this drug medication if your breastfeeding, pregnant or you are planning to get pregnant, or if there’s a possibility that you could be pregnant.

You should be aware that tamoxifen can damage an embryo that’s developing in your womb and you are strongly advised to use an reliable non-hormonal birth control method such as:

  • Condoms
  • Diaphrams along with spermicide
  • Non-hormonal I.U.D. while taking tamoxifen and two months after stopping treatment

You should discuss with your doctor to advise you on which type of non-hormonal birth control would be best for you.

What are the benefits of tamoxifen?

Millions of men and women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer have benefited greatly from their treatment with tamoxifen.

While an aromatase inhibitor is the usual treatment method used as the first hormonal therapy option for postmenopausal women, tamoxifen is the frontline choice as treatment for premenopausal women, who aren’t able to take an aromatase inhibitor.

To justify this preference for tamoxifen, this drug medication has the propensity to:

  • lower the risk of breast cancer in women who have not been diagnosed but who harbor a higher-than-average risk of getting the disease
  • mitigate or prevent the growth of advanced hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.
  • greatly reduce large hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers before surgery
  • decrease by about 50% the risk of new cancerous cell development in the breast
  • mitigate the reoccurrence of cancer by as much as 40% to 50% in postmenopausal women and by as much as 30% to 50% in premenopausal women.

Tamoxifen can also offer other health benefits which are not cancer related.

As a SERM, it can either prevent or trigger action by estrogens on specific body cells. It does this by blocking the action of estrogen on breast cells and it triggers the action of estrogen in bone and liver cells.

This effectively means that tamoxifen can actively:

  • help prevent bone loss following a woman’s menopausal stage in life
  • help lower cholesterol levels

Will everyone benefit form tamoxifen?

There are reasons why some people may not fully benefit from taking tamoxifen.

In order to be converted into its active form, tamoxifen needs the enzyme CYP2D6 to make the conversion possible.

However, two things can prevent the body from turning this process into reality and these are a flaw in the CyP2D6 enzyme and the action of certain medications of blocking the effectiveness of the enzyme.

The two impeding incidents

  • Abnormal or flawed CYP2D6 Enzyme: It’s been estimated that almost 10% of people living in the world today have a CYP2D6 enzyme that doesn’t function as efficiently as it should. This flaw has the potential to prevent a person from experiencing the full benefit of tamoxifen.

Now would be the right time to ask your doctor to test the normality or otherwise of your enzyme if you wish to take tamoxifen for treating the condition you are suffering.

 Remember that you do have a leeway in that past studies have found that even when your CYP2D6 is flawed it’s most likely it won’t affect the efficacy of tamoxifen. Nevertheless making the decision with your doctor is the best way to proceed in treating your own unique situation.

  • Interference with CYP2D6: Other drug medications have the propensity to interfere with the proper functioning of the CYP2D6 enzyme by directly impeding its activity.

Included in this class of medications are antidepressants also known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)

Also included are other medications which are usually prescribed such as Cardioquin (chemical name: quinidine, Benadryl (chemical name: diphenhydramine), and Tagamet (chemical name: cimetidine). These medications can affect the triggering of tamoxifen.

When they do, they reduce its effectiveness as a treatment for cancer. You should also know that most doctors will recommend that you refrain from taking strong and moderate inhibitors of CYP2D6 while taking tamoxifen.

You may have already taken tamoxifen in combination with other medications. If so, you should consult with your doctor to find out if they may have interfered with CYP2D6 also telling your doctor about the benefit you received from tamoxifen.

You doctor may either suggest you stop your therapy or extend the hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor). The decision will ultimately depend on recurring risk, general medical condition, and preferences.

On the other hand, if you are taking tamoxifen and also a CYP2D6 enzyme for having a high risk of getting breast cancer but you’ve not been diagnosed, your doctor may even now recommend extra anti-estrogen treatment with tamoxifen or raloxifene (brand name: Evista), but this will depend on your menopausal condition.

Another aspect worthwhile considering is that if your cancer had shown clear signs of progression or growth, even while you’ve been taking both tamoxifen and a moderate or strong CYP2D6 inhibitor, it’s not correct to assume that tamoxifen has failed to work properly.

Instead, it’s quite possible that tamoxifen never had the chance to function properly and keep the cancer under control due to the blocking action of the other medication. You should also note that even without a CYP2D6 inhibitor, tamoxifen on its own may still be able to provide considerable benefits.

Takeaway

Treating a condition that involves cancer is never an easy undertaking for both you and your physician and ultimately the decision that will ensure the most effective use of tamoxifen will inevitably lie with your physician. The most important aspect you should take seriously about tamoxifen is not only in its efficacy but also its acceptance as safe and efficacious drug treatment and when you have FDA approval, then tamoxifen is both safe and effective.