From December 3rd to the 9th, I participated in the San Antonio Breast Conference as an advocate and supporter of our vaccine trial. So many exciting topics are discussed each year and in addition to our poster, there was one presentation which I felt was exceptionally interesting and could be life-saving.
It was a presentation by Dr. Jack Cuzick a professor at the Queen Mary University of London. In quoting past clinical trials where Tamoxifen was given to women of high risk to prevent breast cancer, Dr. Cuzick suggested that Tamoxifen could indeed be given to women whose blood contained elevated levels of estradiol. Studies show higher blood levels of this estrogen are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The premise would be to treat these women with Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors to prevent breast cancer from ever occurring.
“Prevention is the way forward,” said Dr. Jack Cuzick, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology at Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. “We need to think more like cardiologists. They don’t wait for someone to get a heart attack to treat them. Breast cancer is a great place to start thinking about prevention in oncology because we have a lot of evidence to support it.”
Of course, taking these anti-estrogens are not without side effects but certainly the opportunity to avoid cancer is an outstanding option. Stay tuned....
