Clot risk with cancer medicine

By KATHERINE HOBY

A widely used cancer drug can trigger tumours in the womb and cause economy class syndrome, new research shows.

Tamoxifen is at present widely used in New Zealand and overseas for breast cancer, but new Canadian research raises serious questions about its use as a preventive drug.

The drug is still safe for use in helping cancer patients, but needs to be reconsidered for use in healthy women, Britain's Cancer Research Campaign has said.

A computer model was used to project what would happen to women given tamoxifen. It showed that apart from known side-effects - bleeding, reduced bone density and flushing - the drug would make them vulnerable to other diseases.

Research team leader Dr Phyllis Will said the drug raised the risk of endometrial cancer (a tumour of the womb lining) by four times and doubled the risk of economy class syndrome.

The President of the Cancer Society of New Zealand, oncologist Dr David Perez, said he did not think tamoxifen was widely prescribed to healthy women in this country.

It is used by women who had had a mastectomy to prevent secondary tumours developing after surgery.

He said the risks of getting economy class syndrome or endometrial cancer were well known.

Dr Perez said he had not prescribed tamoxifen as a preventive medicine but there would be healthy women in New Zealand using it.

"Some are so apprehensive about the risk of breast cancer, they are prepared to take that risk," he said.

"For those using it after a mastectomy, the risk of more breast tumours is far greater than the risk of [economy class syndrome] or endometrial cancer."

He said there might be some cancer specialists "pushing tamoxifen harder than others".

The Observer newspaper said the findings would mean the use of tamoxifen as a preventive medicine would be urgently reconsidered in Britain.

The head of clinical research at Cancer Research Campaign, Kate Wall, said the study was "sending out a warning signal about tamoxifen".

"It is certainly not telling us that we should stop using it. We just have to be very careful."

Feature: Economy class syndrome

nzherald.co.nz/health