Chemoprevention Of Breast Cancer

摘要

Breast cancer is the most common nonskin cancer in women. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimated that women will account for 182,460 new cases of diagnosed breast cancer and 40,480 deaths caused by breast cancer in the United States this year, making breast cancer the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Advances in early detection and improved treatment for breast cancer have led to a steady decrease in the overall breast cancer mortality rate; however, breast cancer remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In addition to improvements in early detection and treatment, chemoprevention, or the use of pharmacologic agents to decrease the risk of developing cancer, is another approach to further decrease breast cancer mortality in high-risk patients. In 1998, tamoxifen was approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of breast cancer in women who are at high risk.