Qualifying women can take an active role in their future health while assisting in an upcoming study to find ways to decrease the occurrence of breast cancer in future generations.

Area women who are at high risk for developing breast cancer my be eligible to participate in the STAR (study of tamoxifen and raloxifene) Project. The national five-year trial will determine whether the osteoporosis drug raloxifene, brand name Evista, is as effective in reducing the chance of developing breast cancer as tamoxifen has proven to be, said registered nurse Nancy Mattingly of Southeast Missouri Hospital. Southeast and St. Francis Medical Center are among cancer centers nationwide participating in the study.

Both hospitals were involved in a study begun in 1992 that found that tamoxifen decreased by 45 percent the number of high risk women who developed breast cancer, Mattingly said.

But taking tamoxifen will very slightly increase, by about 1 percent, a woman's risk for developing uterine cancer, said registered nurse Trinka Hileman, STAR Project coordinator at St. Francis Medical Center.

Raloxifene, which was approved in 1997 for preventive treatment for osteoporosis, has also shown effectiveness in preventing breast cancer, Hileman said.

"Hopefully, it will offer the same protective benefits with fewer side effects than tamoxifen," Hileman said. But that can only be determined through a clinical trail like the STAR Project, she added.

"The study will compare the two to see which is superior," Mattingly said.

About 20 area women completed the tamoxifen trials, the two coordinators said. The STAR Project will involve about 22,000 women nationally, and Hileman said they would like to get as many local women involved as possible.

To participate, women must be at least 35 years old and be post-menopausal, either because of a hysterectomy or normal menand menstruation at an early age.

If a woman's risk factors are high enough to qualify her for participation in the study, she is given details of the study, educated about risks and benefits and must sign a consent form.

Then, over the course of five years, study participants are seen every six months for tests, examinations and other clinical follow-up, Hileman said.

Mattingly said participants in the study could experience a decreased risk of developing breast cancer through the drugs they are given plus they will have the satisfaction of knowing they are helping to answer questions about breast cancer prevention.

"For so long we have concentrated on early detection of breast cancer," said Hileman. "Now these studies are looking at prevention."

The study is important, Mattingly said, because breast cancer is the second leading cancer among women behind only lung cancer.

"It's exciting to be involved in something with the potential of helping other women for years to come," Mattingly said.

For more information on participating in the STAR Project, call Hileman at St. Francis Medical Center, 331-5357, or Mattingly at Southeast Missouri Hospital, 651-5550.