New skin gel fights breast cancer without blood clot risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/nu-nsg071514.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 15-Jul-2014
Contact: Marla Paul
Northwestern University
New skin gel fights breast cancer without blood clot risk

Tamoxifen gel stops breast cancer growth and won't cause dangerous side effects

CHICAGO --- A gel form of tamoxifen applied to the breasts of women with noninvasive breast cancer reduced the growth of cancer cells to the same degree as the drug taken in oral form but with fewer side effects that deter some women from taking it, according to new Northwestern Medicine® research.

Tamoxifen is an oral drug that is used for breast cancer prevention and as therapy for non-invasive breast cancer and invasive cancer.

Because the drug was absorbed through the skin directly into breast tissue, blood levels of the drug were much lower, thus, potentially minimizing dangerous side effects -- blood clots and uterine cancer.

The gel was tested on women diagnosed with the non-invasive cancer ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in which abnormal cells multiply and form a growth in a milk duct. Because of potential side effects, many women with DCIS are reluctant to take oral tamoxifen after being treated with breast-saving surgery and radiation even though the drug effectively prevents DCIS recurrence and reduces risk of future new breast cancer.

The paper was published July 15 in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

"Delivering the drug though a gel, if proven effective in larger trials, could potentially replace oral tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention and DCIS and encourage many more women to take it," said lead author Seema Khan, M.D., a Northwestern Medicine® surgical oncologist. "For breast cancer prevention and DCIS therapy, effective drug concentrations are required in the breast. For these women, high circulating drug levels only cause collateral damage."

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