Breast Cancer Chemoprevention: Current Approaches and Future Directions

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer globally among women and is the leading cause of cancer death. Breast cancer prevention trials have shown up to 50% reduction in breast cancer incidence among women at increased risk for breast cancer with the use of chemo-preventive agents. Despite such a large potential reduction in breast cancer risk, the uptake of these agents has been poor as compared with the use of preventive agents for other health outcomes. This review provides an update of the trials evaluating chemoprevention agents for breast cancer and highlights the populations likely to benefit from them. Healthcare providers need to be comfortable with the use of chemopreventive agents for breast cancer, as they are a real option for women at increased risk, particularly those with early precursor lesions. Work is ongoing to identify agents for estrogen receptor-negative cancer and agents with minimal toxicity for more general use.