A new study from researchers at the University of Geneva shows that the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen may also be useful in combating lung cancer. The study found that women who were undergoing treatment for breast cancer, with Tamoxifen as part of their chemotherapy routines, also showed a reduced death rate from lung cancer. The research team examined data from women who received Tamoxifen from 1980 to 2003 and found that the death rate from lung cancer in those patients was eighty-seven percent lower than those who did not take the drug.
Tamoxifen has been used for decades to suppress the production of estrogen, a female sex hormone. Previous research efforts have tied the production of estrogen to breast cancer. Recent studies have also linked hormone replacement therapy, often prescribed to post-menopausal women, to an increased incidence of lung cancer. One of the premises of the Geneva study was to learn if suppressing hormones could be used as a therapy to treat lung cancer.
The study data did not show a decrease rate in the appearance of lung cancer in women who took Tamoxifen, but the results did show a remarkable reduction in the mortality rate from the disease. Dr. Elisabetta Rapiti, the study’s team leader, said that the data shows clear signs, “that there is a hormonal influence on lung cancer”. She also cited earlier findings that showed that lung cancer cells have receptors for estrogen and progesterone, another female sex hormone, which suggests that the mutated cells could feed off the hormones.
Oliver Childs, the senior science information officer at the British research facility Cancer Research UK, told reporters that it was “possible” that Tamoxifen and other anti-estrogen drugs could also have a positive effect on lung cancer patients. However, he also said that the results from the Geneva study were inconclusive since “the number of women who developed lung cancer (in the study) was small”.
In Dr. Rapiti’s study, out of more than six thousand patient records examined, only forty of the women showed signs of lung cancer. Less than half of the Geneva study patients underwent treatment with Tamoxifen or other hormone suppressants, and only one-third of the patients had ever smoked. The study data shows that nearly as many smokers used Tamoxifen as underwent other kinds of chemotherapy for their breast cancer.
The study authors also mentioned that the data was incomplete in places, including how the breast cancer diagnosis affected the women’s smoking behaviors. They also mentioned that they often lacked specific information on the types and dosages of anti-estrogen therapies the women received during their chemotherapy treatments.
Mr. Childs said that “large-scale clinical trials” would be necessary to determine how Tamoxifen could be used as a potential weapon against lung cancer. Dr. Rapiti also mentioned “prospective studies” to examine the findings further. She also said that, if any new studies confirm the earlier findings, it “could have substantial implications for clinical practice” in the treatment of lung cancer.
Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12243206 http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/LungCancer/24487 http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Breast-cancer-drug-may-also-cut-lung-cancer-deaths–Study/741687/