TUESDAY, Sept. 6, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Women with hormone-dependent breast cancer can reduce their chance of tumor recurrence by switching from one cancer-preventing drug to another after five years, researchers report.
Specifically, they found that switching women off the estrogen-inhibiting drug tamoxifen and onto the drug letrozole may help keep them cancer-free.
Tamoxifen for five years post-surgery is now standard treatment for women with estrogen-linked breast cancer. However, over time, cancer cells can become resistant to -- or even dependent on -- tamoxifen.
Letrozole works differently, lowering estrogen levels by selectively inhibiting a key enzyme called aromatase.
Reporting in the Sept. 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers at Massachussetts General Hospital in Boston found that just 3.6 percent of women who started taking letrozole at the end of their tamoxifen treatment experienced cancer recurrence, compared to 6 percent in a control group who started taking a placebo after finishing up with tamoxifen.
However, the Boston team noted that letrozole also led to more side effects, including osteoporosis and hot flashes, probably linked to estrogen depletion.
More information
The National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer.
