A new day dawns: women without oestrogen or is a balance best?
Building on the 30-year success story with tamoxifen, the question now is whether one agent can be used for treatment and prevention or should new medicines be targeted to specific applications? The early results with anastrozole suggest it could replace tamoxifen for treatment and should be tested as a preventive. Unfortunately, long-term testing of aromatase inhibitors will be required to avoid concerns about osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and coronary heart disease. Most importantly, the knowledge gained with tamoxifen has resulted in a new generation of selective oestrogen receptor modulators that can be used to prevent osteoporosis, breast cancer and uterine cancer. It is now clear that strategies utilising aromatase inhibitors and selective oestrogen receptor modulators will provide much needed options for individualised treatments.
Jordan
V Craig
VC
Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. vcjordan@northwestern.edu
D000077384:Anastrozole; D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009570:Nitriles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014230:Triazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use
D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D009570:Nitriles; D014230:Triazoles; D013629:Tamoxifen; D000077384:Anastrozole