Jessenii Facultas Medica Martinensis

Mammary gland cancer is a serious worldwide medical problem. Chemoprevention is rapidly growing area of oncology. The strategy of chemoprevention seems to be promising for reducing cancer incidence both in well-defined high-risk individuals and also in the general population. Based on mechanism of action, two classes of agents – selective oestrogen receptor modulators and retinoids – are effective in the suppression of breast cancer initiation and progression. Several clinical trials have shown that selective oestrogen receptor modulators significantly decrease breast cancer incidence in high risk women. In premenopausal women, fenretinide have shown a durable trend towards reducing second breast malignancies. Clinical data suggest that fenretinide could be useful for breast cancer chemoprevention in young women, perhaps in combination with tamoxifen. This review summarizes the results of preclinical and clinical breast cancer research with selective oestrogen receptor modulators and retinoids and discusses possible role of these drugs in the prevention and treatment of the disease.