Women face breast cancer risk from miscarriage drug

HUNDREDS of Irish women whose mothers were prescribed a drug aimed at preventing miscarriages face more than double the normal risk of breast cancer.

An American study of 5,000 women due to be published this week has found that those over 40 whose mothers were given diethylstilboestrol (DES) were 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer.

The drug was prescribed to hundreds of Irish women between 1955 and 1975 and has caused serious health problems among their daughters.

It was already known that the drug caused complications such as miscarriages, irregular bleeding and infertility, but this is the first compelling evidence linking it as a breast cancer cause.

Up to six million women worldwide have reportedly used DES, which was promoted by several manufacturers for preventing miscarriage and pre-term births.

It was introduced in the 1940s but withdrawn by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1971 after a link was reported between in utero exposure to the drug and the subsequent development of cancer of the cervix and vagina.

However, it continued to be administered by health authorities in Ireland for another four years despite health warnings.

Researchers at the US National Cancer Institute followed 5,000 women who were exposed to DES and compared them with a group who were not.

Overall, the DES daughters had a 40% increased risk of breast cancer but the risk was 250% higher in a subgroup of women over 40. The findings are due to be published in the journal Cancer Causes and Control.

DES Action Ireland, a group representing those affected by the drug, said it was not surprised at the study results.

“It unfortunately confirms our fears in this area and adds another dimension to the problem,” said Daphne Passmore.

A clinic for DES daughters has been established at the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, Dublin, overseen by Dr Mary Wingfield, where treatment is available for affected women.

There are no accurate figures to show how many Irish women were prescribed the drug, but up to 200 women are being treated at the clinic.

DES Action Ireland says it is likely this is just the “tip of the iceberg” as many women suffer symptoms but do not realise the cause. Some Irish women have explored legal avenues in a bid to secure compensation from the drug firms responsible for DES, but most medical records relating to distribution of the drug have been destroyed or have gone missing.

In the US, however, through a legal device called market-share liability, women have been able to claw back damages from the drug’s producers which include Wellcome, Abbott and Eli Lilly.

New York lawyer Sybil Shainwald handled many of the cases and has compared the plight of Irish DES daughters to that of the Thalidomide victims of the

For further information contact: DES Action Ireland, Carmichael House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7. Tel: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]