Breakthrough drug cuts breast cancer risk

Published: June 6, 2006 | 4322nd good news item since 2003

TRIALS of a drug hailed as offering a major breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer have shown it can cut the risk of the disease spreading and reduce the chances of it recurring in the future.

The findings show that Aromasin can reduce the risk of post-menopausal women dying by 17 per cent when compared with standard therapy.

Aromasin is one of a family of medicines called aromatase inhibitors aimed at women with breast cancer who have been through the menopause.

The drug works by preventing production of the female hormone oestrogen, which fuels breast cancer in about two-thirds of postmenopausal cases. Another aromatase inhibitor, Femara, is already available in Scotland.

Overall, the improvement could result in around 1,000 fewer deaths per year.

British-led researchers looked at 2,352 postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer who switched to Aromasin after two to three years of tamoxifen treatment with the “gold standard” hormone-blocking drug tamoxifen. Women given Aromasin had a lower risk of dying than those restricted to tamoxifen, the researchers found.

Professor Timothy Cooke, a breast cancer specialist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said the results were “encouraging”.

Published in Cancer and Science & Technology
See also: news.scotsman.com