Breast cancer drug hailed as greatest advance in 30 years

[bemildred]

The findings, announced in the United States, mark a watershed in breast cancer care and are expected to challenge the dominance of tamoxifen, the main treatment since the 1970s, which has saved millions of lives by reducing the recurrence of cancer after surgery by 50 per cent.

Research findings announced at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in Texas yesterday, and published online by The Lancet, show that the first of a new class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors can cut the rate of recurrence by 76 per cent, with fewer side effects.

The new drugs cost about £1,000 a year compared with £20-£30 for tamoxifen but are only licensed for advanced breast cancer in Britain. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence said it could not consider if the drugs should be made available on the NHS until a licence for first-line use had been granted, which could mean women will have to pay privately.

The results of the five-year trial involving 9,300 women, the largest conducted for breast cancer, show that women taking the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole (brand name Arimidex) were less likely to have their cancer spread, and lived longer.


Independent UK

[madrchsod]

1. it`s from europe

remember millions of people die each year from medicines that are sold in europe. within years there will be no one left because they took drugs that were produced in europe...at least that is what i have heard on the news....

[OzarkDem]

2. Announced last year

this is a newer study, but still the same drug.

The problm with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and Letrozole specifically is that the FDA approved their use before trials were complete. It poses the same problems as the COX 2 inhibitors, in that the drugs haven't been fully tested for long term adverse side effects. There have been some concerns about bone necrosis, particularly in the jawbones, for some women who have taken AI's for several years.