Tamoxifen & antidepressant article from Bloomberg.com 5/30/09

BRCA NEWSWORTHY

Antidepressants cut effectiveness of Tamoxifen in Breast Cancer by Lisa Rapaport

Please follow this link for the entire article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=acVRDiRcYWzQ&refer=news

I found this article worthy of passing on to you readers…ALWAYS DISCUSS ANY OF THESE THINGS WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN!

A study says…Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil when taken with Tamoxifen was more likely to inhibit the effectiveness of taking Tamoxifin therefore…increases the risk of your tumor returning when compared to women who didn’t take the above mentioned antidepressants. These antidepressants are known as SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) & they use the same supply of enzymes (found in our liver) to make them effective that Tamoxifin uses—therefore they have to share the supply of enzymes making Tamoxifin weaker. SSRI’s also include the medications Celexa & Lexipro- but Paxil was found in the study to be the strongest in blocking the enzyme.

Effexor was mentioned as not interfering with the effects of Tamoxifen.