Talk to your doctor about medicines that may prevent cancer
"Chemoprevention" involves using natural or laboratory-made substances, including drugs, vitamins, and hormones, in an effort to prevent cancer or keep it from coming back. According to the National Cancer Institute, hundreds of substances are being studied as possible chemopreventative agents. Some of the most promising are described below:
Breast cancer: Data reported in 1998 from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial showed that healthy women at increased risk of breast cancer who took tamoxifen had 49 percent fewer diagnosed cases of breast cancer than healthy, at-risk women who did not take the drug. Women on tamoxifen also had fewer diagnoses of noninvasive lesions, including ductal and lobular carcinoma in situ.
Colon, Esophageal, and Bladder cancers: NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory drugs), such as aspirin, piroxicam, celecoxib, and sulindac, are being studied alone and in combination with other agents to see if they are useful for people with a family history of colon polyps or cancer. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of celecoxib to reduce the number of colorectal polyps in people with familial adenomatous polyposis, an inherited condition in which hundreds of polyps form in the colon and rectum. It is not yet known whether using celecoxib to reduce the number of polyps will also reduce the number of new colorectal cancer cases or deaths from the disease. Celecoxib also is being studied for people at risk of cancers of the esophagus and bladder. Other studies are looking at whether increasing calcium intake, through supplements or low-fat dairy products, lowers colon cancer risk. These studies are being conducted mainly in people previously diagnosed with colon polyps or cancer.
Lung cancer: The asthma drug Budesonide is being studied in clinical trials to see whether it can help keep precancerous lesions of the lung from progressing to cancer. The drug is being given as a spray so that it can reach the lung tissue directly.
Cervical, Lung, Oral, and Bladder cancers: Scientists are also studying synthetic and natural retinoids, compounds related to vitamin A, for the prevention of several types of cancer, including cancers of the cervix, lung, oral cavity, and bladder.
