Treatment Is Seen to Cut Breast Cancer Recurrence

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Treatment Is Seen to Cut Breast Cancer RecurrenceMarch 11, 2004By ANAHAD O'CONNOR Drugs that completely block estrogen can lower the risk ofbreast cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women aftersurgery, according to the latest study to suggest that somewomen can improve their chances of recovering from breastcancer with aromatase inhibitors.The study followed more than 4,700 women who tooktamoxifen, the most common treatment for preventingrecurrences of breast cancer. But women who switched to theestrogen-blocker exemestane two and a half years later cuttheir chances of developing another tumor by a third.Taking exemestane, which is sold under the brand namearomasin by Pfizer, also provided better protection againstdeveloping a tumor in the second breast and carried lesssevere side effects than tamoxifen.The most serious known risk of aromasin and other aromataseinhibitors is bone loss, a concern for patients with ahistory of osteoporosis, said Dr. R. Coombes, thestudy's lead author. One solution, he said, might be tocombine the therapy with calcium supplements.The researchers also warned that it was unclear ifpostmenopausal women should switch to aromasin."It seems that the beneficial effects are partially theresult of two to three years of tamoxifen first, so at themoment it appears that both drugs should be given insequence," said Dr. Coombes, a professor of cancer medicineat Imperial College School of Medicine in London.The findings, to be published today in the New EnglandJournal of Medicine, were released a year ahead ofschedule. But the study is continuing, its authors said,and it is uncertain whether the drug can save lives.Women are usually advised to take tamoxifen for five yearsafter a breast cancer operation. But half of allrecurrences occur five or more years after cancer is firstdiagnosed, and continuing tamoxifen provides no addedprotection. Aromasin is one of several drugs that suppress blood levelsof estrogen by blocking aromatase, the enzyme that helps toproduce it. By choking off the body's main source ofestrogen, aromasin and other aromatase inhibitors cutestrogen levels to almost zero.Tamoxifen prevents estrogen from latching onto tumor cellreceptors and directing them to multiply. In some patientsthe drug's effectiveness fades, and serious side effectscan result, including uterine cancer.http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/11/health/11BREA.html?ex=1080001597 & ei=1 & en=2053524d028b22bd---------------------------------Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imaginereading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoynow for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1 & ExternalMediaCode=W24AFHOW TO ADVERTISE---------------------------------For information on advertising in e-mail newslettersor other creative advertising opportunities with TheNew York Times on the Web, please contactonlinesales@... or visit our online mediakit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfoFor general information about NYTimes.com, write tohelp@.... Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company