Advanced breast cancerAdvanced breast cancer treatment options
Treatment for advanced breast cancer may include one type of therapy or a combination of therapies. Some treatments available for women with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer are described below.
Hormonal (estrogen-blocking/reducing) treatment
In advanced breast cancer, one of the goals of hormonal treatment is to slow or delay disease progression. It is used as a way to block the effect of estrogen and keep it from helping cancer cells to grow and spread. In order for hormonal treatment to work, hormone receptors (the part of the cell to which hormones can attach and then stimulate tumor growth) must be present in the cancerous tumor. Your medical team can determine the hormone-receptor status of the tumor by using a lab test of your cancer biopsy. There are several hormonal treatment options available to treat advanced and metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. To find out which hormonal treatment option may be best for you, please talk to your doctor.
- ARIMIDEX is approved for first-line treatment (first hormonal treatment in advanced breast cancer) for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer
- ARIMIDEX is also approved for treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. Patients with estrogen receptor-negative disease and patients who did not respond to previous tamoxifen therapy rarely responded to ARIMIDEX
- In advanced breast cancer clinical trials, the most common side effects seen with ARIMIDEX include hot flashes, nausea, decreased energy and weakness, pain, headache, back pain, bone pain, swelling in arms and legs, trouble breathing, and increased cough
- Prescription ARIMIDEX is only for postmenopausal women. ARIMIDEX should not be taken if you are pregnant because it may harm your unborn child
- ARIMIDEX should not be taken with tamoxifen or estrogen-containing therapies
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FASLODEX® (fulvestrant) Injection is a hormonal treatment for hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy (for example, tamoxifen). See how FASLODEX works.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, including those that have spread to areas other than the breast. It is sometimes used in locally advanced breast cancer to shrink the tumor and make it operable. It is also sometimes given after surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain in the body. For tumors that have spread and cannot be removed by surgery, chemotherapy may be one of the main types of treatment. There are many different chemotherapy drugs and regimens. Chemotherapy can be used alone or along with hormonal treatment, as well as with other treatments.
Novel targeted therapy
This term covers several new options that fight cancer by targeting specific features of cancer cells, such as certain proteins. One type of targeted therapy, for example, works only against breast cancer cells that make too much of a protein called HER2/neu. It works by binding to HER2/neu proteins on tumor cells, causing them to stop working. Tumor cells are then unable to grow, or their growth is slowed. This type of therapy can be used together with chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays, such as x-rays, to kill or hinder the growth of cancer cells. In metastatic disease, some patients may receive radiation therapy to treat symptoms at sites where the cancer has spread. For exmaple, if breast cancer has spread to the bone, radiation may be used to lessen bone pain.
Surgery
In some cases, a physician may recommend surgery to remove tissue from the breast or to remove lymph nodes. Cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes may also have spread to other parts of the body. If the cancer has spread, surgery beyond removing the tumor in the breast is generally not an option.
Important Information About FASLODEX Injection and ARIMIDEX
FASLODEX and ARIMIDEX are indicated for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy.
Important Safety Information About FASLODEX and ARIMIDEX
- FASLODEX and ARIMIDEX are only for postmenopausal women. FASLODEX and ARIMIDEX can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Women of childbearing potential should be advised not to become pregnant while receiving FASLODEX or ARIMIDEX.(See CONTRAINDICATIONS and WARNINGS sections of full Prescribing Informations)
- Because FASLODEX is administered intramuscularly, it should not be used in patients with bleeding diatheses, thrombocytopenia, or in patients on anticoagulants
- In clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse effects seen with FASLODEX vs ARIMIDEX treatment, regardless of the investigator’s assessment of causality, were gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea 26.0% vs 25.3%, vomiting 13.0% vs 11.8%, constipation 12.5% vs 10.6%, diarrhea 12.3% vs 12.8%, abdominal pain 11.8% vs 11.6%), headache (15.4% vs 16.8%), back pain (14.4% vs 13.2%), hot flashes (17.7% vs 17.3%), and pharyngitis (16.1% vs 11.6%). Injection site reactions with mild, transient pain and inflammation were reported in 7% of patients (1% of treatments) given a single 5 mL injection and 27% of patients (4.6% of treatments) given 2 x 2.5 mL injections of FASLODEX. Joint pain/stiffness has been reported in association with the use of ARIMIDEX
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for full Prescribing Information for FASLODEX. Please click here for full Prescribing Information for ARIMIDEX.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).