Femara cuts cancer recurrence even if started late

A woman’s breast cancer recurrence risk can be significantly reduced with continued intake of the Novartis drug Femara (generically named letrozole), even long after she has stopped taking the estrogen blocker tamoxifen, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Femara or letrozole belongs to a new family of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, which block the production of estrogen that can lead to some types of cancer. The study found that post-menopausal women who took Femara anywhere within five to seven years after finishing a five-year course of tamoxifen treatment reduced their recurrence risk by 63%. Tamoxifen is the most widely used estrogen-blocking drug, but its benefits have been shown to fall significantly after five years. Femara was also found to cut the risk of cancer spreading to other areas by 61% and the risk of a tumor developing in the unaffected breast by 80%. The study was based on an analysis of 1,579 women, some of whom chose to take letrozole while others remained on a placebo. Nearly three years after the end of the study, those who took letrozole had only a 2% risk of tumor recurrence compared to 5% in the placebo group. The study looked only at the results of letrozole, said Dr. Paul Goss of Massachusetts General Hospital, leader of the study, but the results would likely apply to all aromatase inhibitors.