USPSTF Updates Recommendation for Medications in Reducing Breast Cancer Risk

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its 2013 recommendation for medication use in reducing risk of primary breast cancer. Among the recommendations are:

• Clinicians are recommended to offer risk-reducing prescription medications, such as tamoxifen, raloxifene, or aromatase inhibitors, to women with increased breast cancer risk and low risk for adverse medication effects (B recommendation).
• Routine use of risk-reducing medications, such as tamoxifen, raloxifene, or aromatase inhibitors, is not recommended in women without increased risk for breast cancer (D recommendation).

The USPSTF stated that the new recommendation applies to asymptomatic women aged 35 years or older, including women with previous benign breast lesions on biopsy, such as atypical ductal or lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ. However, the Task Force noted, the new recommendation does not apply to women with a current or previous diagnosis of breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, excluding skin cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer death, the USPSTF wrote in their recommendation statement. An estimated 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, and the risk of mortality from breast cancer is highest among African American women compared with women of other races/ethnicities, the Task Force says.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
US Preventive Services Task Force. Medication use to reduce risk of breast cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2019;322(9):857-867. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.11885.