New drug for breast cancer

A new breast cancer drug called anastrozole is considered better than the standard treatment with tamoxifen in preventing a new tumour developing in the other breast of women with early disease. The research was carried out at the University College Hospital London, UK. It was one of the largest breast cancer trials ever conducted and involved more than 9,000 women who were given either anastrozole, tamoxifen or a combination of both. According to research presented by scientists at the 3rd European Breast Cancer Conference the drug outperformed tamoxifen, in a trial of women with early breast cancer. Women who were given anastrozole for 2-1/2 years had a 58 percent lower risk of developing a new tumour in the other breast than those taking tamoxifen. It is an important finding as the reduction in the development of contralateral (other) breast cancer was beyond expectations. Tamoxifen reduces the risk of a new cancer in the other breast by 50 percent and anastrozole slashes it in half again. Anastrozole works by inhibiting production of the female hormone oestrogen in women who are past menopause. Most cases of breast cancer are in post-menopausal women. The drug does not work in younger women and it may increase the risk of fractures or brittle-bone disease. Women who had anastrozole had fewer side effects such as blood clots, hot flushes and cancer of the uterus than the tamoxifen group.