WEDNESDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Aromatase inhibitors are an effective treatment for breast cancer in elderly women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), invasive tumors, according to the results of a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Remy J. Salmon, M.D., and colleagues from the Institut Curie in Paris, France, treated 75 women (mean age 75 years) who had ER+, invasive breast cancer with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole for at least six months.
The researchers found that 86 percent of patients required conservative surgery. Only one patient failed to respond to therapy, while the majority (78 percent) had a clinical response of 30 percent to 80 percent. There were no significant differences in estrogen receptor levels after treatment, and the clinical response was not influenced by estrogen receptor status, according to the report.
"Aromatase inhibitors are effective as neoadjuvant therapy in ER+ elderly patients with large tumors, as is tamoxifen," Salmon and colleagues conclude. "In our experience, neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy should be administered for at least 6 months to optimize clinical response before deciding upon surgery."
Abstract
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