Medication to prevent breast cancer — too much to swallow?

Greenfield, Jerry R; McCormack, Ann I

doi:10.5694/mja12.10056

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To the Editor: We read with interest the recent article by Harvey and colleagues,1 which eloquently outlines the benefits and risks of selective oestrogen receptor modulators in the prevention of breast cancer in women at moderate-to-high risk.

St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: j.greenfield@garvan.org.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Harvey SL, Francis JE, McBride AJ, et al. Medication to prevent breast cancer — too much to swallow? Med J Aust 2011; 195: 646-649. <MJA full text>
2. Monami M, Colombi C, Balzi D, et al. Metformin and cancer occurrence in insulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 2011; 34: 129-131.
3. Libby G, Donnelly LA, Donnan PT, et al. New users of metformin are at low risk of incident cancer: a cohort study among people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2009; 32: 1620-1625.
4. Pollak M. Metformin and other biguanides in oncology: advancing the research agenda. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2010; 3: 1060-1065.
5. Shaw LM. The insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins: at the intersection of metabolism and cancer. Cell Cycle 2011; 10: 1750-1756.

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