New Drug Best bet for Breast Cancer
March 18, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research shows the hormone treatment exemestane may be a better alternative than the gold-standard drug tamoxifen for postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer.
Researchers from Belgium presented their findings on the world’s only phase III trial to compare the two treatments at the 4th European Breast Cancer Conference. Their results add to findings of a study reported last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. That study showed postmenopausal women with breast cancer are less likely to have their disease recur if they’re treated with exemestane after taking tamoxifen for two to three years.
The current study involved more than 350 patients from around the world. Patients were randomized to receive either exemestane or tamoxifen.
Results of the study show the average disease-free survival was nearly 11 months for women on exemestane, compared to less than seven months for women on tamoxifen. Nearly 8 percent of the women in the exemestane group responded completely to the treatment, and nearly 40 percent responded partially. On the other hand, only about 3 percent of women in the tamoxifen group responded completely, and about 27 percent responded partially.
Researchers say exemestane was a safe and superior alternative to tamoxifen for women in the study. They say exemestane is known to provoke hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in women, just like tamoxifen does. According to researchers, exemestane may also cause more muscular and joint aches than tamoxifen. However, women on exemestane may have a lower risk of blood clots and endometrial cancer.
Authors of the study say more research is needed to determine whether exemestane can be safely combined with chemotherapy. They say the drug may be a good first line treatment for postmenopausal women with breast cancer and may also be used as a preventive measure for high-risk women in the future.
SOURCE: 4th Annual European Breast Cancer Conference in Hamburg, Germany, March 16-20, 2004
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.