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. 2010 Feb;19(2):443-6.
doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-09-0930.

Prevalence of tamoxifen use for breast cancer chemoprevention among U.S. women

Erika A Waters  1 , Kathleen A Cronin, Barry I Graubard, Paul K Han, Andrew N Freedman
Affiliations

Prevalence of tamoxifen use for breast cancer chemoprevention among U.S. women

Erika A Waters et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Tamoxifen can reduce the risk of developing invasive estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer by 49%, but it is unknown how many women in the United States are taking tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer.

Methods: Data from the years 2000 and 2005 National Health Interview Surveys were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of tamoxifen use among U.S. women for primary chemoprevention of breast cancer.

Results: In 2000, approximately 0.2% of U.S. women ages 40 to 79 years without a personal history of breast cancer took tamoxifen for chemoprevention (95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.31). In 2005, the prevalence was approximately 0.08% (95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.17).

Conclusion: The prevalence of tamoxifen use for primary prevention of breast cancer was very low in the years 2000 and 2005. Possible explanations for the low uptake are explored.

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References

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