PITTSBURGH--A study has begun to determine the effectiveness of tamoxifen(Drug information on tamoxifen) (Nolvadex) in preventing osteoporosis in a group of women participating in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT), coordinated by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP).
The Bone Mineral Density and Biochemical Marker Study (BMDS) will involve 384 women (half premenopausal and half postmenopausal) randomized to receive tamoxifen or placebo.
The trial will study the effects of tamoxifen on both bone density and biochemical markers of bone turnover over a period of at least 5 years. Data on bone fractures also will be collected on the entire BCPT population of 16,000 women for at least 5 years.
"Most previous studies using tamoxifen have been in animals or in post-menopausal women with breast cancer, a disease that itself may affect bone loss," said Normal Wolmark, MD, of the NSABP Operations Office.
