The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against the routine use of the medications tamoxifen or raloxifene for the primary prevention of breast cancer in women at low or average risk for breast cancer. For women who are not at high risk for breast cancer, the potential harms of chemoprevention may outweigh the potential benefits.
The USPSTF recommends that clinicians discuss chemoprevention with women at high risk for breast cancer and at low risk for the adverse effects of chemoprevention, informing them of the potential benefits and harms. The balance of benefits and harms may be favorable for some women at high risk for breast cancer but depends on cancer risk, risk for adverse effects of chemoprevention, and individual patient preferences.
The USPSTF Recommendations and Rationale—as well as the Summary of Evidence, a press release, and a fact sheet are available below.
Current as of July 2002
Internet Citation:
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Chemoprevention of Breast Cancer. July 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/breastchemo/
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