VIDEO from Medialink: Breast Cancer Drug Switch Improves Survival.This year in the U.S., approximately 40,970 women will die from breast cancer. Sadly, 212,920 women and 1,720 men will also be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. The statistics are alarming. (See video at: http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=32161) The most advanced study results regarding breast cancer treatment This article or section recently underwent a major revision or rewrite and needs further review. You can help! The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery when the tumor is localized, with possible adjuvant hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen or an aromatase with Pfizer's AROMASIN - an aromatase inhibitor aromatase inhibitor n. A drug that inhibits tumor growth, especially breast cancer, by inhibiting the enzyme aromatase and thereby lowering estrogen levels in the blood or in tumor tissues. , compared to tamoxifen tamoxifen (təmŏk`sĭfĕn'), synthetic hormone used in the treatment of breast cancer. Introduced in 1978, tamoxifen is used to prevent recurrences of cancer in women who have already undergone surgery to remove their tumors. , the longtime gold standard hormonal therapy Hormonal therapy Use of hormone medications to inhibit menstruation and relieve the symptoms of endometriosis. Mentioned in: Endometriosis - give new hope for breast cancer survival. Data from a recent landmark clinical trial shows that AROMASIN meets the toughest standard for demonstrating a drug's benefit. While extensive data is available on patient response during hormonal treatment, this study examines patient benefit after hormonal therapy is completed. AROMASIN is the first and only aromatase inhibitor approved for adjuvant adjuvant /ad·ju·vant/ (aj?dbobr-vant) (a-joo´vant) 1. assisting or aiding. 2. a substance that aids another, such as an auxiliary remedy. 3. treatment of postmenopausal post·men·o·paus·al adj. Of or occurring in the time following menopause. postmenopausal Change of life Gynecology adjective Referring to the time in ♀ when menstrual periods stop for ≥ 1 yr women with estrogen-receptor positive early breast cancer following two-to-three years of tamoxifen for a completion of five consecutive years of adjuvant hormonal therapy. This approval was primarily based on IES data, which showed that switching to AROMASIN after two-to-three years of tamoxifen for a total of five years of adjuvant hormonal therapy offers 31% more protection from cancer recurrence than five years of tamoxifen alone, the current standard of care. The landmark IES trial involved 4,724 patients from 37 countries. Registered journalists can access video, audio, text, graphics and photos for free and unrestricted use at http://media.medialink.com. |
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