A drug that scientists hoped might be a safe new way to prevent breast cancer appears to cause bone loss. The finding could make women more reluctant to use the drug, Exemestane, and it deals a setback to the notion that one-day healthy people might take medicine to reduce their risk of getting cancer. “One might not be too reassured about the use of Exemestane in the prevention setting,” Jane A. Cauley, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, wrote in a commentary that accompanied the study.
Exemestane is already used to prevent recurrence of breast cancer. But a large study published last June showed its use could reduce the risk of getting invasive breast cancer in the first place by about 65 percent, compared with a placebo, in women at higher risk of the disease. Health Guide: Breast Cancer While two other drugs, Tamoxifen and Raloxifene, are already approved to…
