Dodwell D et al. – Physicians should consider late extended adjuvant therapy for women who have been off tamoxifen for some time, as it may offer benefit in outcomes, and this option should be discussed. Methods
Review
Results
There is a need for effective protection against recurrence beyond the initial 5 years of adjuvant treatment for women with hormone-responsive cancer
Extended adjuvant endocrine therapy with letrozole following completion of adjuvant tamoxifen treatment is well tolerated and reduces recurrence risk by 42% and the risk of developing distant metastases by 40% when compared with placebo
Extended adjuvant letrozole therapy confers protection against late relapses and should be considered for women completing adjuvant tamoxifen therapy
The MA.17 trial demonstrated statistically significant benefit in DFS with letrozole; it was unblined early to allow pts receiving placebo to receive letrozole. MA.17 post-unblinding results: women originally randomized to placebo who then chose to receive letrozole experienced a significant improvement in all outcomes: DFS and distant DFS, including a significant survival advantage when compared with women in the placebo arm who chose to continue with no further treatment
See all
