Breast cancer prevention

Bennington -- Green Mountain Oncology is continuing to look for participants to take part in the largest North American breast cancer prevention trial ever undertaken. The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) will be wrapping up patient enrollment in the coming weeks. However, about 1,000 women are still needed for the multi-center trial to reach its goal of 19,000 participants.

The study is designed to determine which of two breast cancer fighting drugs works better at cancer prevention. Green Mountain Oncology is one of more than 500 sites in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico taking part in the study. Researchers expect to complete the study by 2006.

"We would like to enroll a few more women from the Bennington area in the study," said H. James Wallace, MD, who is an oncologist and the medical director of Green Mountain Oncology. "This is an opportunity for women to take part in safe, groundbreaking research into breast cancer. The results could have huge implications for preventing breast cancer for years to come."

The STAR trial is specifically for postmenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer. These are women with a family history of breast cancer and a combination of personal medical factors.

STAR is designed to determine whether the osteoporosis prevention and treatment drug raloxifene (Evista) is as effective as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in reducing breast cancer risk. It is the follow-up study to the landmark Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT), which was published in 1998. The latter study led the US Food and Drug Administration to approve tamoxifen as a way to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women with high risk.

Recently STAR enrolled its 18,000th participant: Maxine Watson of Mesquite, TX. Watson said she hopes joining STAR will reduce her risk of developing breast cancer. "My sister is a breast cancer survivor," Watson said. "My other sister and I decided to participate in STAR because we wanted to contribute to breast cancer research."

Once a woman decides to participate, she is randomly assigned to receive either 20 milligrams of tamoxifen or 60 milligrams of raloxifene daily. She also has regular follow-up examinations until the results of the trial are known.

"The women in STAR know their health is our first priority because they are at increased risk for getting this disease," said Theresa Keefer, the STAR coordinator who guides Bennington area residents through the study. "As part of the trial, their care is closely monitored."

When asked what she would say to other women at increased risk for developing breast cancer, Keefer said, "It's not too late to join STAR. Researchers need one thousand more women before July 2004. Participating is easy and it is something women can do now to help women in the future."

STAR is conducted by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), which is a not-for-profit cancer research group. It's funded by the National Cancer Institute. For more information about STAR, contact the Green Mountain Oncology Group at (802) 442-1290.