Tamoxifen prescribed to 13,000 females a year – but many don't finish course because of extreme side effects

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

The lives of more than 400 women could be saved each year if patients took the full course of the most commonly used breast cancer drug despite its sometimes severe side-effects, according to research.

About 13,000 women a year are prescribed a five-year course of tamoxifen but many are not finishing their course due to side-effects including hot flushes, joint pain, fatigue, weight gain and sweats.

Analysis found that those who fail to take the full course of tamoxifen have a higher chance of their cancer recurring and suffering an early death, as well as losing an average of 13 months of reasonable quality of life.

The Breast Cancer Campaign, which funded the study by a team from the University of Glasgow, called for women to be given support to continue taking the once-a-day drug, which is usually prescribed after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The research also emphasised the financial strain put on the NHS as a result of patients not taking the full course of the drug, finding that patients who do not adhere to the regime cost an extra £5,970 on average due to more hospital admissions and need for other medicines.

Lady Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "Tamoxifen is one of the most effective treatments for breast cancer when taken as prescribed but sadly some women find it intolerable to take the full five-year course and risk recurrence of their disease.

"This study is a timely reminder that it's so important that women are given support to continue taking their tamoxifen so that they have the best possible chance to outlive breast cancer."

Colin McCowan, from the University of Glasgow, and his team analysed prescription records for 1,263 women with breast cancer to see how often they took tamoxifen and for how long.

Women who collected fewer than 80% of their prescriptions were classed as having low adherence to the treatment. The findings showed 434 lives a year could be saved alongside millions of pounds if women took the drug for five years.

Writing in the British Journal of Cancer, the team said: "Patients with low adherence have shorter time to recurrence, increased medical costs and worse quality of life.

"Interventions that encourage patients to continue taking their treatment on a daily basis for the recommended five-year period may be highly cost-effective."

Lesley Smith, consequences of treatment programme manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Like many forms of cancer treatment, tamoxifen can often have debilitating side-effects.

"Unfortunately, suffering from severe side-effects of treatment is not exclusive to breast cancer patients.

"Macmillan estimates that at least half a million cancer survivors in the UK currently face disability and poor health due to their illness and its treatment."