The long-awaited results of the largest breast cancer chemoprevention trial ever conducted provide what its leaders say is excellent news: Regular use of the anti-osteoporosis drug raloxifene (Evista) works just as well as tamoxifen at reducing breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women at high risk, but appears less likely to cause some of the potentially dangerous side effects seen with tamoxifen use.

"These results demonstrate that raloxifene represents an effective alternative for postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer," said Dr. D. L. Wickerham, associate chairman of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), which coordinated the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR).

The STAR results, added Dr. Leslie Ford, associate director for clinical research in NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention, "have immediate implications for how women view their breast cancer risk and what they can do about it. They will make breast cancer prevention more of a reality for many women."  Read more  

Minority Cancer Awareness Week: A Time to Reflect

Each year, we learn more about the devastating impact of cancer on minority communities. Whether it is the burden of one type of cancer on a particular minority population, or disproportionate mortality when comparing minorities with whites, cancer disparities exact a huge toll on society. As long as these disparities exist, our work to eliminate suffering and death due to cancer is far from complete.

That is why overcoming cancer health disparities remains one of NCI's strategic priorities as well as one of the best opportunities we have for making an impact on cancer. The strategy calls for understanding the factors that cause cancer health disparities, working with communities to develop targeted interventions, developing interventions to enhance the integration of services for underserved populations, and working to develop a cadre of researchers and clinicians who can effectively address cancer disparities.  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.