Pilot Study of Effects of Duavee® on Imaging and Blood Biomarkers In Women With Menopausal Symptoms

Pilot study to test feasibility of 6 months of Duavee® vs wait-list control in post-menopausal women symptomatic for hot flashes.

Duavee® which is the combination of the selective estrogen receptor modulator bazedoxifene and conjugated estrogen 0.45 mg) is an FDA approved drug for treatment of hot-flashes and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The investigators recently reported the results of a single arm pilot study suggesting that 6 months of Duavee® was associated with improvement in several risk biomarkers including benign breast tissue proliferation, mammographic fibroglandular volume, IGF-1, SHBG and progesterone in high risk women in late menopause transition. Prior to opening a randomized Phase IIB trial of 6 months of Duavee® vs placebo in high risk women with hot-flashes followed by open label Duavee®, the intent of this study is to assess probable uptake of such a trial design with a pilot of 6 months of Duavee® vs wait-list control in symptomatic women. Additional imaging biomarker information from MRI will be obtained. A finding on MRI of greater background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in high risk women is positively associated with higher probability of developing breast cancer and is independent of fibroglandular volume. BPE is reduced by selective estrogen receptor modulators including tamoxifen. The investigators will investigate change in MRI BPE over time for women randomly assigned to either receive Duavee® or not (wait-list control). The investigators will also explore development of fully automated breast MRI volumetric density measures.