Abstract

The chemoprevention of breast cancer using pharmacologic agents has had substantial clinical success. Randomized clinical trials evaluating selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs) have shown that these agents reduce the incidence of breast cancer by up to 50% in healthy women at increased risk for the development of the disease. SERMs have been of particular value in women with biopsy-proven risk factors, including atypical hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ of the breast. The agents...