Anastrozole and letrozole: an investigation and comparison of quality of life and tolerability
- نوع فایل : کتاب
- زبان : انگلیسی
- مؤلف : J. Michael Dixon Lorna Renshaw Carolyn Langridge Oliver E. Young Mary McHugh Linda Williams Juliette Murray E. Jane Macaskill Fiona Mc
- چاپ و سال / کشور: 2010
Description
Previous studies have demonstrated that both anastrozole and letrozole are well tolerated. Letrozole suppresses estrogen to a greater degree than anastrozole in the serum and breast tumor. Concerns have been raised that greater potency may adversely affect patients’ quality of life (QOL). One hundred eighty-one postmenopausal women with invasive estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers were randomized to receive either 12 weeks of letrozole followed by 12 weeks of anastrozole or the reverse sequence. One hundred and six received immediate adjuvant aromatase inhibitors (AIs) following surgery, and 75 received extended adjuvant therapy. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Endocrine Subscale (FACT-B-ES) QOL questionnaires were completed to assess QOL on each drug. Additional side-effect profiles were collected. Each patient completed a patient preference form. Twenty-one patients withdrew before study end, 10/179 (5.6%) while taking letrozole and 4/173 (2.3%) while taking anastrozole (P = 0.12). Tamoxifen-naı¨ve patients had a higher mean ES (endocrine symptoms subscale) score at entry versus those having extended therapy (66.0 vs. 61.9; P = 0.001). There was no significant change in FACT-B-ES (overall) scores or ES scores while patients were taking anastrozole or letrozole and no significant differences between drugs. Nearly 80% of patients reported one or more side effects with either agent. No differences in frequency, grade, or range of side effects were seen between drugs. Of 160 patients, 49 (30.6%) preferred letrozole, 57 (35.6%) preferred anastrozole, and 54 (33.8%) had no preference (P = 0.26, Pearson’s Chisquared test). In conclusion, both AIs are equally well tolerated. There were no significant differences in QOL scores between the two drugs.
Breast Cancer Res Treat (2011) 125:741–749 DOI 10.1007/s10549-010-1091-9 Received: 12 October 2009 / Accepted: 22 July 2010 / Published online: 7 September 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2010
