The anti-osteoporosis drug Evista (raloxifene hydrochloride) now has federal regulators' approval to be labeled as being a potential weapon against breast cancer.
A spokesman for manufacturer Eli Lilly says the Food and Drug Administration is allowing the drug to be so labeled, although it is not to be prescribed for the sole purpose of preventing breast cancer. The company claims the estrogen-related drug "reduces the incidence of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer, potentially the most serious type of breast cancer, by 63 percent among postmenopausal women taking the therapy for more than three years."
Studies also indicate Evista "has significant benefits on vertebral (spinal) fractures and cholesterol levels." FDA approval came after the company submitted data from tests on some 12,800 women over three years.
The women, aged from 31 to 80, were enrolled in 10 separate, double-blind, placebo-controlled tests. The results, according to Dr. August Watanabe "thus far clearly demonstrate that Evista has a significant, positive impact on a woman's health after menopause."
