New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Extending anti-estrogen therapy by five years helps breast cancer patients

Date:
June 6, 2016
Source:
Loyola University Health System
Summary:
A study has found that extending the use of aromatase inhibitors for an additional five years significantly improved the amount of time the women lived without their breast cancer returning.
Share:
FULL STORY

Breast cancer patients significantly benefit by taking hormone therapy drugs called aromatase inhibitors for an additional five years, according to a major study presented at the Plenary Session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Loyola University Medical Center is among the centers funded by the National Cancer Institute that enrolled patients in the trial.

“This will have enormous implications for thousands of women with breast cancer,” said Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, principal investigator for the Loyola site. “It will change practice standards worldwide.”

The trial included postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. Some of the women had taken anti-estrogen therapy with aromatase inhibitors for five years. Other women in the study had taken the anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen for five years, followed by five years of aromatase inhibitors.

The study found that in both groups, extending the use of aromatase inhibitors for an additional five years significantly improved the amount of time the women lived without their cancer returning. “This is the first time ever that we have proof that taking anti-estrogen therapy for five years longer than the usual five-to-ten years makes a big difference in breast cancer outcomes,” Dr. Albain said.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Loyola University Health System. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Loyola University Health System. "Extending anti-estrogen therapy by five years helps breast cancer patients." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 June 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160606120334.htm>.
Loyola University Health System. (2016, June 6). Extending anti-estrogen therapy by five years helps breast cancer patients. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160606120334.htm
Loyola University Health System. "Extending anti-estrogen therapy by five years helps breast cancer patients." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160606120334.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES