Drug trials that involved Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology Program confirm effectiveness of breast can

Sharon Hanks

A Grand Rapids-based cancer research and education program reports good news in the fight against breast cancer on the effectiveness of two preventative drugs following a clinical trial that lasted nearly seven years.

In one of the largest breast cancer prevention clinical trials ever conducted, the results show that the drug raloxifene was effective in preventing non-invasive breast cancer among high-risk post-menopausal women. It caused significantly less endometrial cancer and was significantly less toxic than another cancer prevention drug, tamoxifen, says Connie Szczepanek, administrative director of the Grand Rapid Clinical Oncology Program. However, raloxifene was slightly less effective than tamoxifen in preventing invasive breast cancer.

"The significance is that we now have options for breast cancer prevention," says Szczepanek. "It's something that we didn't have 10 years ago," noting that tamoxifen has been around for awhile. "The outcomes were positive and the results were sustainable. It's definitely good news."

During the 81-month study, Szczepanek says the local program enrolled 230 women who were among the 19,490 post-menopausal women randomly assigned to take raloxifene or tamoxifen for five years. The Study of Raloxifene and Tamoxifen, dubbed STAR P-2 trials, involved a total of 1,032 women from Michigan. More information about the clinical trial's study can be found in the program's press release here.

The results show that raloxifene retained 76 percent of the effectiveness in preventing invasive breast cancer and grew closer to the effectiveness tamoxifen had in preventing noninvasive breast cancer.

The study was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the same organization that primarily funds the Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology Program at 100 Michigan St. NE. About 25 professionals at the center work with 300 West and Northern lower Michigan member physicians to offer cancer prevention and treatment clinical trials for people who are at risk for developing cancer or who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Source: Connie Szczepanek, Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology Program

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.