Nutritional Supplements and Hormonal Manipulations for Breast Cancer Prevention
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The overall hypothesis is that the combination of a low dose of the antiestrogen Raloxifene
with omega-3 fatty acids will exert a synergistic breast cancer chemopreventive effect due to
the crosstalk of their downstream cellular effects leading to decreased proliferation and
increased apoptosis of premalignant mammary cells. Based on the investigators hypothesis that
upregulation of functional estrogen receptors in the premalignant lesions is also responsible
for the development of hormone independent tumors, the investigators postulate that the
combination of antiestrogens and omega-3 fatty acids will reduce the development of both
hormone-dependent and -independent tumors. At present, there are no known interventions able
to decrease the development of hormone-independent tumors, which are more prevalent, more
aggressive, leading to the patient's demise. In addition, the investigators postulate that
this approach will be safe since it will combine a lower and hence a less toxic dose of
Raloxifene with the administration of omega-3 fatty acids which are known to have health
benefits, i.e., reduction in cardiovascular risk, beyond their possible chemo preventive
effect in breast cancer.