To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - ECCO: Anastrazole Shows Equal Efficacy To Tamoxifen In Advanced Breast Cancer URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/12C44A.htm Doctor's Guide September 16, 1999
By David Loshak Special to DG News
VIENNA, AUSTRIA -- September 16, 1999 -- The new anti-cancer drug anastrazole could become the first choice for treating postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer, instead of the current first-ling treatment, the drug tamoxifen. That was suggested at the 10th European Conference on Clinical Oncology (ECCO), in Vienna Austria, by a Canadian investigator, Professor Jean-Marc Nabholtz, from Montreal.
Dr. Nabholtz reported that anastrazole was "at least as effective" as tamoxifen, or even better in some respects.
Anastrazole is already licensed for use in advanced breast cancer, but only after tamoxifen has failed to work adequately. "Our data confirm that anastrazole can now be considered as an alternative to tamoxifen as a first-line treatment for postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer," Prof. Nabholtz said.
"A statistical comparison shows that it conferred significant improvement in time-to-progression of the cancer compared with tamoxifen," he added. "And it was as at least as well tolerated in most respects."
Now that anastrazole has proved effective in advanced breast cancer, the largest ever breast cancer trial will test its efficacy in early breast cancer.
The ATAC (Anastrazole, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial will compare it with tamoxifen alone and with a combination of the two. ATAC took only three years to sign up more than 9,000 women in 22 countries on five continents.
When it was outlined at a conference session, a delegate said he was "dismayed" that none of these countries was in eastern Europe or (apart from South Africa) in Africa.
It was well known, he pointed out, that patients who take part in clinical trials do better than those who do not. It was therefore "deeply regrettable" that people in these poorer regions were denied such a golden opportunity to get the best treatment.
Dr. Joan Houghton, of the London Cancer Trials Centre, agreed it was unfortunate but explained that the unusual rapidity of recruitment into the trial had made it impossible to include patients from these countries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.