Breast Saving Treatment?

Researchers measured whether a type of drug called an aromatase inhibitor could help women with cancer keep their breasts.

This type of medication may help women with breast cancer avoid the need for a mastectomy. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers measured whether a type of drug called an aromatase inhibitor could help women with cancer keep their breasts. They included 352 postmenopausal women who had a type of breast cancer that is affected by the hormone estrogen.

The participants were assigned to take one of three aromatase inhibitors, which keep women’s bodies from making estrogen after menopause. By reducing estrogen, these drugs can put the brakes on tumors that use estrogen to grow. After four months of treatment, about half of the women who had been told they would need a mastectomy had enough improvement in their cancer that they were able to have breast-saving surgery instead.

According to the lead researcher, the three drugs had a similar ability to stop the growth of the tumors. Previous research has found that for this type of patient, aromatase inhibitors can do more to prevent breast cancer relapses than chemotherapy, without chemo’s harmful side effects.