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Risk of breast cancer in relation to the use of rauwolfia alkaloids

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Summary

In a case-control study of 1881 women with breast cancer and 1523 controls with benign conditions, 65 cases (3.5%) and 64 controls (4.2%) reported having used a drug that contained rauwolfia, giving a rate ratio estimate of 0.8 (95% confidence interval, 0.5–1.1). Use that ended more than a year previously was negatively associated with breast cancer (rate ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.2–0.9). The risk of breast cancer did not vary significantly according to duration of use. Nor did it vary within strata of varying base-line risk, such as age at first pregnancy. The data suggest that rauwolfia alkaloids do not increase the risk of breast cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Drug Epidemiology Unit, Boston University School of Medicine, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

    S. Shapiro, J. L. Parsells, L. Rosenberg, D. W. Kaufman, P. D. Stolley & D. Schottenfeld

Authors
  1. S. Shapiro
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  2. J. L. Parsells
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  3. L. Rosenberg
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  4. D. W. Kaufman
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  5. P. D. Stolley
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  6. D. Schottenfeld
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Shapiro, S., Parsells, J.L., Rosenberg, L. et al. Risk of breast cancer in relation to the use of rauwolfia alkaloids. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 26, 143–146 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00630277

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00630277

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