Prozac, cancer drugs don't mix

Prozac, cancer drugs don't mix

Breast cancer survivors risk having their disease come back if they use certain antidepressants while also taking the cancer prevention drug tamoxifen, worrisome new research shows.

Tamoxifen cuts in half the chances of a breast cancer recurrence. Many women also take antidepressants for hot flashes, because hormone pills aren't considered safe after breast cancer.

Doctors have long known that some antidepressants and other medicines can lower the amount of tamoxifen's active form in the bloodstream. But whether this affects cancer risk is unknown.

The new study, reported yesterday, is the largest to look at the issue. It found that using these interfering drugs -- including Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft -- can virtually wipe out the benefit tamoxifen provides.

Not all antidepressants pose this problem, and women should talk to their doctors about which ones are best.