Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer Fact Sheet NCI

Aromatase inhibitor therapy has side effects that may affect your quality of life. If you’re taking an aromatase inhibitor, ask your healthcare provider about ways to reduce side effects so you can continue treatment that helps you live free of breast cancer. Letrozole was approved for use in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer in the United States in 1997. Current indications are as adjuvant (add-on) therapy in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, given in daily oral doses for up to 5 years 25.

Hormone Therapy and Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

• Results of these tests can give your oncologist an idea of how you’re responding to the treatment.
• If you already have heart disease, discuss all the potential benefits and risks with a doctor.
• This medicine deprives breast cancer cells of the hormones they need to grow.
• Aromatase inhibitors only work in post-menopausal women, but tamoxifen and raloxifene work in both pre- and post-menopausal women.

Hormone therapy is recommended for a full five to 10 years after the primary treatment of breast cancer, so the cost of tamoxifen or your aromatase inhibitor is an important factor to consider. With some effort exploring your options, you may be able to significantly lower your overall spending on treatment. With estrogen receptor-positive tumors, late recurrences are more common than with other types of breast cancer. Hormone therapies have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrence and improve survival rates. Drugs called aromatase inhibitors can stop the body from making estrogen and deny cancer cells the fuel they need to grow. Women on aromatase inhibitors are at a two- and four-fold increased risk of bone loss compared to a matched set of women in the general population, says a 2015 review in theJournal of Bone Oncology.

Reduction of Late Recurrence

Some people may start treatment with an aromatase inhibitor or take tamoxifen for a few years and then start aromatase inhibitor therapy. Exemestane (Aromasin), another selective aromatase inhibitor, comes in 25 mg tablets, and for postmenopausal breast cancer, dosing is 25 mg daily for 2 to 3 years. Common exemestane side effects include hot flashes, night sweats, joint pain (arthralgias), fatigue, dizziness, nervousness, insomnia, nausea, weight gain and headache 24. Uncommon, but potentially severe adverse reactions of exemestane include reduction in body mineral density and embryo-fetal toxicity 24. Common anastrozole side effects include hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, dizziness, headache, somnolence, abdominal discomfort, nausea, arthralgias, weight gain and rash 23. Uncommon, but potentially severe side effects of anastrozole include decrease in bone mineral density, increase in serum cholesterol and increased rate of cardiovascular events.

How do aromatase inhibitors work?

Letrozole (Femara) works by decreasing the amount of estrogen produced by the body. Letrozole (Femara) is used treat early breast cancer in women who have experienced menopause and who have had other treatments, such as radiation or surgery to remove the tumor. Letrozole (Femara) is also used to treat early breast cancer in women who have experienced menopause and who have already been treated with a medication called tamoxifen (Nolvadex) for 5 years. The aromatase inhibitors anastrozole and letrozole are approved to be given to postmenopausal women as initial therapy for metastatic or locally advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer (12, 13). Both of these drugs and the aromatase inhibitor exemestane are also approved to treat postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer whose disease has worsened after treatment with tamoxifen (14).

Good record keeping will help you to prove your expenses at tax time. There is growing evidence that aromatase may benefit more than just postmenopausal women. A number of studies shown that the drugs may be beneficial in premenopausal women whose ovaries have suppressed with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnHRa). Learn about aromatase inhibitors and other hormone therapies for metastatic breast cancer. You’ll meet with your cancer doctor, called an buy anabolic tablets oncologist, regularly for follow-up visits while you’re taking hormone therapy for breast cancer.

Treatment with aromatase inhibitors can be started at the same time with radiation therapy. The most common side effects of aromatase inhibitors are symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. This side effect can be serious enough to cause some women to stop taking the drugs. In addition, SSRIs are sometimes used to treat hot flashes caused by hormone therapy. Men with early-stage ER-positive breast cancer who receive adjuvant therapy are usually treated first with tamoxifen. Those treated with an aromatase inhibitor usually also take a GnRH agonist.

Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors are two types of medications that may help. They vary in cost and use, so talk with your doctor about what treatment is most appropriate for you. Work together to figure out how to manage the cost of these medications.