Breast Cancer Drug Cuts Prostate Cancer

The drug toremifene, used to treat breast cancer in women, has been found to also reduce the incidence of prostate cancer in men at risk for the disease.

The study found patients at all dose levels of toremifene had a lower cumulative incidence of prostate cancer after 12 months of treatment, with the 20 mg dose contributing the greatest effect.

All participating patients had high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, known as PIN, characterized by abnormal cells in the lining of the prostate ducts. Research suggests most patients with high-grade PIN will develop prostate cancer within 10 years, however more research is needed to confirm those findings, the researchers said.

For men with high-grade PIN, the prospect of developing prostate cancer is a very real possibility, said Dr. Mitchell Steiner, chief executive officer with GTx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the treatment of serious men’s health conditions.

The study was presented Tuesday during the American Association for Cancer Research Third Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research in Seattle.