NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Breast cancer may reappear once it has been inactive for 15 years after successful treatment, according to a study.
Women who have previously had large, cancerous tumors and spread to the lymph nodes are at increased risk of cancer recurrence by as much as 40 percent.
Researchers in their study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said the increased use of hormone therapy may reduce the risk of tumor recurrence.
Scientists analyzed the development of the disease in 63,000 women, all of whom have been infected with common forms of breast cancer for 20 years.
This type of tumor feeds the hormone estrogen, which stimulates cancer cells to grow and divide.
Each patient receives a combination of drugs, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, that inhibit the effects of estrogen or inhibit access to the hormone supply.
Despite five years of cancer treatment, some women found that after 15 years the cancer spread to the rest of the body, while some of them spread to the body 20 years later.
Women who had large tumors and cancers that had spread to four or more lymph nodes were at higher risk for cancer in the next 15 years, the study said.
Women who have had small cancers and have not spread to the lymph nodes are 10 percent less likely to develop cancer during this period.
"noticeable"
"It is remarkable that breast cancer remains idle for a long period of time and then spread over many years, with the same risk for years, continued strong association with the size of the original cancer, and the likelihood of its spread to the lymph nodes," said study co-author Hongshao Ban of Oxford University.
Doctors have long known that tamoxifen reduces the risk of a cancer recurrence by up to a third in the five years following treatment cessation.
A recent study suggests that the expanded use of hormone therapy for about 10 years may be more effective in preventing breast cancer from returning or dying.
The hormone estrogen stimulates breast cancer cells to grow and divide
Aromatase inhibitors, which work only with postmenopausal women, are believed to be more effective.
But there are side effects in the use of hormone therapy, as its use can affect the patient's lifestyle and quality, and prompt him to stop receiving it.
"We need to know what the difference can be in receiving hormone therapy for 10 years instead of five, as well as side effects and how they affect the nature of life," said Arne Boroshotham, senior clinical research adviser at the British Cancer Research Foundation, the institution that funded the study. Patients and their quality. "
Sally Greenbock, of the Breast Cancer Now Foundation, says it is important for women to discuss any changes in treatment with their doctors.
"We call on all women who have previously received breast cancer treatment to be alarmed, but we call on them to make sure they are aware of the symptoms of the disease and to talk to their doctors or medical care staff if they feel any concerns," she said.
In the end we hope for the ultimate treatment of the patients and that God will heal us from this malignant disease
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