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New hormonal drugs for estrogen positive?

Page last modified on: November 20, 2008
Question from Niet: For women who had a lot of hormonal therapy drugs (estrogen positive) in the beginning of illness, are any new hormonal drugs available?
Answers —Nicholas Robert, M.D.: In patients with early breast cancer who are post-menopausal, there is evidence for using hormonal therapies for periods longer than five years. This initially was demonstrated with using letrozole in women who had been treated with tamoxifen for five years. When given letrozole, patients had a reduced risk of recurrence. This observation has led to an interest in using aromatase inhibitors earlier in the treatment of patients with breast cancer, but also an interest to see if this type of hormonal treatment should be given for a longer period of time. There are ongoing studies asking this question.
Generosa Grana, M.D., F.A.C.P.: In metastatic disease, the most recently studied hormones have been Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant). It is an active compound and no new data has been presented recently on this compound. There has been some interesting data presented in Europe and San Antonio, combining aromatase inhibitors with Herceptin in women that are both HER2-positive and estrogen receptor-positive. Studies are ongoing, combining other aromatase inhibitors with some of the newer targeted therapies, such as lapatinib.

On Wednesday, June 20, 2007, the Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from the 2008 ASCO Annual Meeting. Generosa Grana, M.D., F.A.C.P. and moderator Nicholas Robert, M.D. answered your questions about the latest news on breast cancer screening, treatment, and side effects reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Generosa Grana, M.D., F.A.C.PGenerosa Grana, M.D., F.A.C.P. is the director of the Cooper Cancer Institute and heads the division of hematology/medical oncology at Cooper University Hospital.

Nicholas Robert, M.D.Nicholas Robert, M.D. is a co-chair of the Breast Committee of the U.S. Oncology Research Network and also chairs the Cancer Committee and Research Committee of the Inova Fairfax Hospital's Cancer Center. 

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