Newly Published Study Reveals Femara(R) Improves Chances for Harder to Treat Early Breast Cancer Relapse in Postmenopausal Women
Femara reduces the risk of breast cancer spreading to the lungs, the brain or the bone which has a worse prognosis than when the cancer is localised to the breast Newly published data in the May issue of Annals of Oncology, Oxford University Press show that after two years of post-surgical therapy, postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer treated with Femara experienced 30 percent fewer early breast cancer recurrences at sites away from the breast (distant metastases) compared with tamoxifen(1).
The spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body means that it is extremely likely that a woman will die from the disease(2). Recurrences that occur locally, regionally, or in the opposite breast (contra-lateral) are more easily treated than those that spread far from the original tumour, and they are associated with better long-term outcomes(3,4).
In the retrospective analysis of more than 7,700 women at a median follow-up of two years, approximately 75 percent of early recurrences occurred at distant sites such as bone or vital organs. However, there were 30 percent fewer distant recurrences in the Femara group than in the tamoxifen group (87 vs. 125, respectively)(1).
Maria Leadbeater, Secondary Breast Cancer Nurse Specialist at Breast Cancer Care commented, "Breast Cancer Care speaks to women with breast cancer daily and knows that they welcome any treatment development that could help to reduce the likelihood of their cancer recurring. Having been treated for breast cancer the first time round, one of the greatest fears is that the disease might return. These findings confirm earlier results
from this trial, and suggest that Femara may be a treatment option for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer that could help reduce the risk of this happening to them."
Compared with tamoxifen Femara also demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of recurrence to the same breast (local recurrence), the other breast and to the lymph nodes (regional recurrence).
"Femara is the only aromatase inhibitor shown to significantly reduce the risk of distant metastases versus tamoxifen as initial adjuvant therapy in postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer. This is particularly good news since we know that this type of recurrence significantly worsens the prognosis for these women," said Dr Andrew Wardley, study investigator and consultant medical oncologist at the
Christie Hospital, Manchester, and the South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The retrospective analysis also identified patients at higher risk of recurrence based on clinical and pathological disease characteristics. The results showed that patients with the highest risk of early recurrence had tumours larger than five centimetres, four or more positive nodes, positive oestrogen receptor status but negative progesterone status, grade three tumours and invasive disease. Notably, women with node positive disease,
who are considered to be at a higher risk of recurrence, maintained this lower risk of relapse when treated with upfront Femara than with tamoxifen(1).
"These results provide the tip of the iceberg and for the bigger picture, physicians will be eagerly awaiting the results of the BIG 1-98 sequencing arms, which hope to indicate the optimal strategy for using Femara post surgery and are due to be ready for 2008. This is why Novartis has made a significant commitment to sponsor this important study", said
Hugh O'Dowd, Business Unit Director, Novartis Oncology UK. -http://www.prnewswire.com
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