Switching to letrozole versus continued tamoxifen therapy in treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer
Joint Authors
Abu Tuq, Nifin A.
Saqr, Hanim A.
Abd al-Latif, Atif
Source
Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute
Issue
Vol. 22, Issue 1 (31 Mar. 2010), pp.79-85, 7 p.
Publisher
Cairo University National Cancer Institute
Publication Date
2010-03-31
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
7
Main Subjects
Topics
Abstract EN
Background : tamoxifen has been the mainstay of breast cancer therapy.
Over time, resistance to tamoxifen may develop.
The aromatase inhibitors have proven to be a powerful drug for use in hormone-sensitive early breast cancer.
The switching strategy was designed to combine the apparent superior efficacy of aromatase inhibitors with tamoxifen favourable effects.
Methods : this study was performed on 120 postmenopausal women with histologically confirmed, hormone receptor-positive, operable invasive breast carcinoma who remained free of disease after 2 years of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy.
They were randomized to receive either letrozole 2.5 mg / day (60 patients) or to continue 20mg /day tamoxifen for 5 years (60 patients).
Results : the treatment groups were well balanced in terms of age, tumor size, nodal status, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and previous surgery.
The disease recurred in 10 patients in the group receiving tamoxifen and 3 patients in the same group switched to letrozole.
There were 8 deaths in the group receiving tamoxifen and 3 deaths in the group of patients who switched to letrozole.
Disease-free survival was higher in the group of patients who switched to letrozole compared to the group of patients who received tamoxifen (p = 0.04), while the overall survival was not statistically significantly different in the two groups.
Letrozole was associated with a significantly lower rate of vaginal bleeding and thromboembolic events.
However, bone fractures and adverse cardiovascular events were more frequent in the arm receiving letrozole than in the arm receiving tamoxifen but these differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion : switching to letrozole after 2 years of tamoxifen may be better than continuing five years of tamoxifen therapy as regard efficacy and tolerability.
Further study is recommended on a larger group of patients to verify this finding.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Abu Tuq, Nifin A.& Saqr, Hanim A.& Abd al-Latif, Atif. 2010. Switching to letrozole versus continued tamoxifen therapy in treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute،Vol. 22, no. 1, pp.79-85.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-273875
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Abu Tuq, Nifin A.…[et al.]. Switching to letrozole versus continued tamoxifen therapy in treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute Vol. 22, no. 1 (Mar. 2010), pp.79-85.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-273875
American Medical Association (AMA)
Abu Tuq, Nifin A.& Saqr, Hanim A.& Abd al-Latif, Atif. Switching to letrozole versus continued tamoxifen therapy in treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute. 2010. Vol. 22, no. 1, pp.79-85.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-273875
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references : p. 84-85
Record ID
BIM-273875