Researchers have found that gel-based tamoxifen could be used to prevent breast cancer relapse in some women.

Tamoxifen is used to prevent as well as treat both invasive and non-invasive breast cancers. Researchers at the Northwestern Medicine say that applying a gel-based form of the drug directly to the breast might increase efficiency and reduce side-effects of the drug.

According to the researchers, in administering the drug via skin the breast tissue minimizes the amount of tamoxifen in bloodstream, which further reduces risk of blood clots or uterine cancer.

The gel was tested on women with non-invasive cancer ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Women suffering from this type of cancer have abnormal growth in the milk duct. Women with DCIS are asked to take tamoflexin regularly after undergoing surgery for DCIS. However, fear of side-effects often prevents women from following medication routine.

The study is published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. 

"Delivering the drug though a gel, if proven effective in larger trials, could potentially replace oral tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention and DCIS and encourage many more women to take it," said lead author Seema Khan, M.D., a Northwestern Medicine® surgical oncologist, according to a news release. "For breast cancer prevention and DCIS therapy, effective drug concentrations are required in the breast. For these women, high circulating drug levels only cause collateral damage."

According to researchers, women who undergo the surgery for DCIS are given oral tamoxifen for five years to reduce recurrence of the cancer.

The study included 26 women aged between 45 and 86 years. who were diagnosed with DCIS. The cancer was estrogen-receptor-positive DCIS or was sensitive to estrogen. Half of the women were give the gel-form of the drug, while the other half got the regular oral version of tamoxifen.

Researchers found that the gel-form of the drug was more effective in reducing the level tamoxifen in blood.