Abstract
In 2005, cancer accounted for 13% of all deaths worldwide. Breast cancer is the number-one cause of cancer-related death among women in the USA, affecting 178,480 of them in 2007. As 75% of tumors in postmenopausal women and half in premenopausal women express estrogen receptor, endocrine therapy plays a significant role as a systemic treatment. Robust datasets have demonstrated the impact of tamoxifen in reducing breast cancer recurrence and mortality, regardless of the age of the patient. Other estrogen-deprivation strategies, such as aromatase inhibitors in postmenopausal women and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists in premenopausal women, are being increasingly used for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. This review discusses basic principles regarding endocrine therapy, the need for accurate estrogen receptor testing and the role of menopause in therapy selection.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1243-1253 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2007 |
Keywords
- Adjuvant treatment
- Aromatase inhibitors
- Breast cancer
- Endocrine therapy
- Estrogen receptor
- Hormonal treatment
- Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist
- Postmenopausal
- Premenopausal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Pharmacology (medical)