Do Antidepressants Lower Effects of Tamoxifen?
According to a June 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal, there are 150,000 women in the United States who are taking the medication tamoxifen concurrently with an antidepressant.
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Tamoxifen
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Tamoxifen is a prescription medication used to treat estrogen-dependent breast cancer tumors. According to Pharmacy Times, the enzyme CYP2D6 is the primary producer of tamoxifen's active metabolite.
Tamoxifen and Antidepressants
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The FDA warned doctors in the summer of 2009 about a higher rate of cancer recurrence found in patients taking tamoxifen with certain antidepressants. This finding came from a study conducted by Medco Health Solutions that showed a more than doubled cancer recurrence rate amongst those taking the two types of medications concurrently.
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CYP2D6 Inhibitors
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The study found that not all antidepressants created the higher rate of recurrence. The medications producing that negative result are moderate to strong inhibitors of the CYP2D6 enzyme so important to the metabolism of tamoxifen.
Strong CYP2D6 Inhibiting Medications
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Paxil, Prozacn and Zoloft are strong CYP2D6 inhibiting medications. In the study, women taking these strong inhibitors had a 2.2 times higher rate of recurrence than those taking only tamoxifen.
Safer Alternatives
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The antidepressants Clexa, Luvox, and Lexapro are weaker CYP2D6 inhibitors. They inhibit the enzyme so little that the study found that the women taking these medications had a recurrence rate on par with those taking only tamoxifen.
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References
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