A(nother) scientific strategy to prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women by enhancing estrogen-induced apoptosis?

The innovation of combining bazedoxifene with conjugated estrogens provides a new opportunity for women's health. The finding by the Women's Health Initiative-that the administration of conjugated equine estrogens alone to women in their 60s who have had hysterectomy results in a decrease in breast cancer incidence and a drop in mortality--was unanticipated but can now be exploited for another gain in women's health. The issue to be considered is how postmenopausal women can improve their lifestyle to take advantage of conjugated equine estrogens-alone therapy. Food and Drug Administration approval of the combination of bazedoxifene and conjugated estrogens now provides an opportunity for postmenopausal women to reduce hot flashes and to potentially selectively sensitize occult breast cancer cells to the apoptotic actions of estrogen. Clinical trials are proposed to advance women's health and to reduce the incidence of breast cancer.