[Chemoprevention: treatment of persons at high risk of cancer].

BACKGROUND

Solid malignant tumours are still associated with high mortality and morbidity. Chemoprevention--long-term systemic therapy in order to revert, stop or at least delay the carcinogenic process--is a feasible therapeutic approach to persons at increased risk of cancer.

METHODS

References for this review article were identified by a search of Medline and PubMed for the years 1990 to 2002; the keywords used were "chemoprevention", "tamoxifen", "COX-2 inhibitors", "NSAIDs", "SERM", "EGFR", "breast cancer", "familial adenomatous polyposis coli", "colorectal cancer", "lung cancer", and "prostate cancer".

RESULTS

Long-term medical treatment of persons at high-risk of cancer may reduce the incidence of several types of malignancies. This approach requires early and reliable identification of persons at high risk.

INTERPRETATION

Chemoprevention is likely to become important in the future treatment of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and probably also other malignancies. In order to ensure treatment effect and to avoid unnecessary side effects, such treatment should be restricted to persons at high risk.