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New hope in the fight against breast cancer A new study has endorsed the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Femara. The global study found that Femara (letrozole) cut the risk of a recurrence of breast cancer in patients who had undergone chemotherapy by 28% when compared to tamoxifen treatment. Over all the results there was a 19% drop in the risk of disease returning compared to treatment with tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is currently the best treatment for cutting recurrence of the disease which kills over 12,000 women a year in the UK alone. The Senology Center of Eastern Switzerland co-ordinated the research which involved 8,000 women including more than 400 from the UK. Femara works as an aromatase inhibitor and stops the body’s production of oestrogen, a hormone responsible for recurrence and growth of many breast cancers. Despite the findings, the NHS drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is not due to rule on whether the drug should be made available until autumn 2006. This is despite the decision to grant a licence for the use of Femara in post-menopausal women with early breast cancer after surgery. The drug is already approved for use in Scotland for post-menopausal women who have already undergone treatment with tamoxifen. The results of the study come amid concern that NHS cost-cutting is the cause of cancer patients being denied access to revolutionary new drugs. This recently led to high profile legal action by patients who succeeded in forcing ... continue > Next page
Published: 28 December 2005 Ref: BBC