Tamoxifen Use Correlates with Increased Risk of the First Episode of Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease in Older Women with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Taiwan

Abstract

Background and Objectives: There are inconsistent results about the association between ischemic cerebrovascular disease and tamoxifen use in women with breast cancer. The study aimed to evaluate the association between the risk of ischemic cerebrovascular disease and tamoxifen use in older women with breast cancer in Taiwan.Methods: We designed a retrospective, nationwide, case-control study using the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program. A total of 800 female subjects with breast cancer aged ≥65 years with the first episode of ischemic cerebrovascular disease from 2000 to 2011 were identified as the cases. Additionally, 2,876 female subjects with breast cancer aged ≥65 years without any type of cerebrovascular diseases were selected as the control subjects. The cases and the control subjects were matched with age and comorbidities. Ever use of tamoxifen was defined as a subject who had at least a prescription for tamoxifen before the index date. Never use of tamoxifen was defined as a subject who never had a prescription for tamoxifen before the index date. We used the multivariable logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for ischemic cerebrovascular disease associated with tamoxifen use.Results: After adjusting for confounding variables, the adjusted OR of ischemic cerebrovascular disease was 2.5 for subjects with ever use of tamoxifen (95% CI 2.10, 2.97), compared with never use of tamoxifen. In addition, the adjusted OR of ischemic cerebrovascular disease was 1.15 (95% CI 1.10, 1.21) in subjects with ever use of tamoxifen as increase in use duration per 1 year. The adjusted OR of ischemic cerebrovascular disease was 2.54 (95% CI 2.03, 3.17) in subjects with ever use of tamoxifen as increase in dosage per 1 mg.Conclusions: Tamoxifen use is significantly associated with 2.5-fold increased odds of ischemic cerebrovascular disease among older women with breast cancer in Taiwan. There are duration-dependent and dose-dependent effects of tamoxifen use on the risk of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Case-Control Study Examining the Association between Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Use and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors available in Taiwan during 2000–2013 were included as follows: fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram, and escitalopram. The definition of medication use was found in previous studies ( Cheng et al, 2017 ; Lai et al, 2017d , e ; Liao et al, 2017d , e ). That is, ever use of medications was classified as a subject who had at least a prescription of medications studied before the index date.…”

Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors Use and Relative Risk of Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetic Patients in a Case-Control Study

“…Other anti-diabetic medications on Taiwan market during 2000–2013 were metformin, sulfonylureas, α-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, and insulins. The definition of medications use was adapted from previous studies ( Cheng et al, 2017 ; Lai et al, 2017h , i ; Liao et al, 2017d , f ). Briefly, subjects with at least a prescription for medications studied before index date were classified into “ever use.” Subjects without a prescription of medications studied before index date were classified into “never use.”…”

Association between tamoxifen use and acute myocardial infarction in women with breast cancer

“…Currently, tamoxifen is the most commonly used and very effective agent as adjuvant therapy for the treatment of breast cancer. [1,2] Recent epidemiological studies have shown that tamoxifen use may be associated with increased risk of ischemic cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease, [3–5] but the relationship between tamoxifen use and acute myocardial infarction still remains controversial worldwide. To date, the current evidence has shown that tamoxifen use has favorable effects on serum lipid profiles.…”