How to manage the menopause following therapy for breast cancer. Is raloxifene a safe alternative?

Raloxifene is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that has anti -oestrogenic effects on breast and endometrial tissue and oestrogenic actio ns on bone, lipid metabolism and blood clotting. In postmenopausal women ra loxifene decreases bone turnover and increases bone mineral density, reduci ng the incidence of vertebral fractures. Unlike tamoxifen, raloxifene does not cause endometrial hyperplasia or cancer, as demonstrated by endometrial monitoring with ultrasonography and biopsy during treatment. Evidence sugg ests that raloxifene lowers total low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level s behaving like oestrogens, but does not increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In randomised clinical trials on postmenopausal women w ith osteoporosis, raloxifene reduced the risk of newly diagnosed ER-positiv e invasive breast cancer by 76% during a median of 40 months of treatment. However, raloxifene does not alleviate early menopausal symptoms, such as h ot hushes and urogenital atrophy, and may even exacerbate some of them. In conclusion, raloxifene may be an alternative for the prevention of long-ter m effects of oestrogen deficiency (osteoporosis and heart diseases) in wome n with previous breast cancer not having hot flushes. For symptomatic patie nts, the association of raloxifene with different drugs which have demonstr ated efficacy in the control of vasomotor symptoms is now under evaluation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.