EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 10 a.m. EDT TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1999
City of Hope Cancer Center Kevin Koga - 800/888-5323
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Michael Byrne - 310/855-4970
St. Vincent's L.A. Oncologic Institute Fred Sohl - 213/207-5604
UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Kim Irwin - 310/206-2805 [email protected]
USC/Norris Cancer Center Mary Ellen Stumpfl - 323/442-2830
**MEDIA ADVISORY**
FIVE LOS ANGELES-AREA HEALTH CENTERS TO PARTICIPATE IN STUDY OF DRUG THAT MAY REDUCE RISK OF BREAST CANCER
Five Los Angeles-area health centers will be among 400 sites to offer a drug that may reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene, or STAR, is one of the largest breast cancer prevention studies ever conducted, and will involve 22,000 women at sites in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. In the L.A. area, participating centers include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope Cancer Center, St. Vincent's L.A. Oncologic Institute, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and the USC/Norris Cancer Center.
WHAT: News conference to announce the Los Angeles-area launch of STAR
WHEN: 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25, 1999 WHERE: Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
WHO: Researchers from the five Los Angeles-area STAR sites will discuss various aspects of the study, including the need for minority participants and how this could affect future treatment of breast cancer, a disease that will strike 184,000 U.S. women in 1999.
The Los Angeles-area centers need to recruit more than 1,500 women over the next five years to determine whether the osteoporosis prevention drug raloxifene (Evista) is as effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) has proven to be in a previous study. Tamoxifen was shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer by about half in a study of 13,000 women at high risk of developing the disease. STAR participants will receive either tamoxifen or raloxifene daily for five years and undergo regular follow-up examinations, including mammograms and gynecologic exams.
PHOTO/INTERVIEW/B-ROLL OPPORTUNITIES Researchers from the five local sites will be available for interviews, as will patients who participated in the tamoxifen study and those who hope to take part in STAR. B-roll will be broadcast at 2:30 p.m. EDT on C band, telstar 5, transponder 15, downlink frequency 4000, and at 2:45 p.m. EDT on KU band, telstar 5, transponder 11, downlink frequency 11929.
**TO PARTICPATE IN THE STAR STUDY, CALL 1-800-4-CANCER.**
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