A major new study has found that the drug tamoxifien, when taken by breast cancer patients for 10 years instead of five, can reduce the chances of the disease coming back or causing death.
Researchers were surprised by the findings since previous research seemed to indicate that taking the drug for longer than five years not only didn’t help, but might actually be detrimental.
The latest study showed that breast cancer patients who took tamoxifen for 10 years lowered their risk of the disease returning by 25 percent and their risk of dying from breast cancer by 29 percent versus those who took the drug for five years.
Results from the study could lead to different treatment protocols, especially in the case of younger women.