Why a popular breast cancer drug may be less effective for some Africans

A gene mutation appears to impair tamoxifen’s ability to tackle the disease

Some round white pills sit beside a pill bottle labeled tamoxifen, which is a popular breast cancer drug.

Tamoxifen, a breast cancer drug, helps derail a strategy that cancer cells exploit to grow.

Bill Branson/National Cancer Institute

WASHINGTON — A genetic variant commonly found in some Africans may stymie the effects of a popular breast cancer drug.

The variant produces a sluggish version of the enzyme known to activate tamoxifen. People who inherit two copies of the variant show five times less active drug in their bloodstreams compared with people who don’t have that variant, researchers reported November 2 at the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting.

Read this story for free

Enter your email address for continued access to Science News

By continuing, you acknowledge that you are at least 13 years of age and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.  Under 13?  Check out Science News Explores.

 

OR
Use up and down arrow keys to explore.Use right arrow key to move into the list.Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.Use tab key to enter the current list item.Use escape to exit the menu.Use the Shift key with the Tab key to tab back to the search input.