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Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Depression;  Mental Health
Article Date: 03 Jun 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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An independent large study conducted by MEDCO Health Solutions Inc. found that women treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer doubled the risk of the disease returning if they used antidepressants--in particular, Paxil and Prozac.

The researchers used medical records to identify 353 women taking tamoxifen plus other drugs that might interfere with it, and 945 women taking tamoxifen alone. Those taking a drug combo did so for about a year on average.

Next, researchers checked to see how many were treated for second cancers in the following two years. "Breast cancer recurred in about 7 percent of women on tamoxifen alone, and in 14 percent of women also taking the antidepressants Paxil and Prozac, and, to a lesser extent, Zoloft."

Medco's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Epstein, said: If women want to take an antidepressant, "you probably want to stay away from those three."

Source
Alliance For Human Research Protection

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