New Adjuvant Treatments for Breast Cancer Prove Cost-
Effective
                                       
New adjuvant treatments for breast cancer are cost-
effective at improving survival, according to two new
studies. Published in the August 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a
peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the
two studies looked at the cost-effectiveness of different
drugs for the management of adjuvant therapies for early

Aromatase inhibitors, a type of hormone therapy used to treat advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women, result in a small but significant increase in overall survival when compared to other hormone treatments, according to a new systematic review of studies. In addition, aromatase inhibitors -- drugs known as Arimidex, Aromasin and Femara -- are less likely to cause blood clots and vaginal bleeding than other hormone treatments, said review co-author Judith Bliss of the Institute of Cancer Research in London. The review analyzed 30 studies involving the treatment of advanced breast cancer, encompassing more than 10,000 postmenopausal women. Bliss and colleagues were surprised at how few of the reviewed studies presented data on overall survival for women taking aromatase inhibitors.