Women's Health Issues
Volume 14, Issue 1 , Pages 7-10 , January 2004

The Letrozole Breast Cancer Trial: clinical implications and remaining questions

  • Wendy Y. Chen, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Division of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Wendy Y. Chen, MD MPH, Channing Laboratory, third floor, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
    • ,
  • JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH

      Affiliations

    • Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Received 12 December 2003

References 

  1. Ahlborg HG, Johnell O, Turner CH, Rannevik G, Karlsson MK. Bone loss and bone size after menopause. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;349:327–334
  2. Baum M, Buzdar A, Cuzick J, et al.  Anastrozole alone or in combination with tamoxifen versus tamoxifen alone for adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer (Results of the ATAC (Arimidex, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination) trial efficacy and safety update analyses). Cancer. 2003;98:1802–1810
  3. Bonneterre J, Thurlimann B, Robertson JF, et al.  Anastrozole versus tamoxifen as first-line therapy for advanced breast cancer in 668 postmenopausal women (Results of the Tamoxifen or Arimidex Randomized Group Efficacy and Tolerability study). Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2000;18:3748–3757
  4. Bryant J, Wolmark N. Letrozole after tamoxifen for breast cancer—What is the price of success?. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;349:1855–1857
  5. Burstein, H. J. (2003). Beyond tamoxifen—extending endocrine treatment for early stage breast cancer. New Engl J Med, 349, 1857–1859
  6. Cuzick J, Powles T, Veronesi U, et al.  Overview of the main outcomes in breast-cancer prevention trials. Lancet. 2003;361:296–300
  7. Dewar J, Nabholtz JM, Bonneterre J, et al.  The effect of anastrozole (Arimidex) on serum lipids—Data from a randomized comparison of anastrozole versus tamoxifen in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer. [abstract 164] Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2000;64:51
  8. Elisaf MS, Bairaktari ET, Nicolaides C, et al.  Effect of letrozole on the lipid profile in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. European Journal of Cancer. 2001;37:1510–1513
  9. Ellis MJ, Hayes DF, Lippman ME. Treatment of metastatic breast cancer. In:  Harris JR,  Lippman ME,  Morrow M,  Osborne CK editor. Disease of the breast. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams, & Wilkins; 2000;
  10. Fornander T, Rutqvist LE, Cedermark B, et al.  Adjuvant tamoxifen in early breast cancer (Occurrence of new primary cancers). Lancet. 1989;1:117–1120
  11. Geisler J, Haynes B, Anker G, Dowsett M, Lonning PE. Influence of letrozole and anastrozole on total body aromatization and plasma estrogen levels in postmenopausal breast cancer patients evaluated in a randomized, cross-over study. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2002;20:751–757
  12. Goss, P. E., Ingle, J. N., Martino, S., Robert, N. J., Muss, H. B., Piccart, M. J., et al. A randomized trial of letrozole in postmenopausal women after five years of tamoxifen therapy for early-stage breast cancer. New Engl J Medicine, 349, 1793–1802
  13. Harper-Wynne C, Ross G, Sacks N, et al.  Effects of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole on normal breast epithelial cell proliferation and metabolic indices in postmenopausal women (A pilot study for breast cancer prevention). Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention. 2002;11:614–621
  14. Heshmati HM, Khosla S, Robins SP, O'Fallon WM, Melton LJ, Riggs BL. Role of low levels of endogenous estrogen in regulation of bone resorption in late postmenopausal women. Journal of Bone & Mineral Research. 2002;17:172–178
  15. Mouridsen H, Gershanovich M, Sun Y, et al.  Phase III study of letrozole versus tamoxifen as first-line therapy of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women (Analysis of survival and update of efficacy from the International Letrozole Breast Cancer Group). Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2003;21:2101–2109
  16. Nabholtz JM, Buzdar A, Pollak M, et al.  Anastrozole is superior to tamoxifen as first-line therapy for advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women (Results of a North American multicenter randomized trial. Arimidex Study Group). Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2000;18:3758–3767
  17. National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship. (2003). Estimated number of cancer survivors over time. Available: http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/ocs/prevalence/prevalence.html#allsites. Accessed November 20, 2003
  18. Stein RC, Dowsett M, Hedley A, Gazet JC, Ford HT, Coombes RC. The clinical and endocrine effects of 4-hydroxyandrostenedione alone and in combination with goserelin in premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer. British Journal of Cancer. 1990;62:679–683
  19. Wouters W, De Coster R, Tuman RW, et al.  Aromatase inhibition by R 76713 (Experimental and clinical pharmacology). Journal of Steroid Biochemistry. 1989;34:427–430

PII: S1049-3867(03)00119-1

doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2003.12.006

Women's Health Issues
Volume 14, Issue 1 , Pages 7-10 , January 2004

Article Tools