ASCO: More answers, and questions, on best hormonal therapy for early-stage breast cancer

Debu Tripathy, CURE's editor-in-chief, is in Chicago for the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He explains an analysis of two early-stage breast cancer studies in premenopausal women. The study revealed that exemestane was better than tamoxifen in patients who had ovarian blockade. After four years there was a reduction in recurrence risk, as well as a slight increase in survival. An analysis that would compare these results to tamoxifen alone is still awaited. "We're not quite ready to change hormonal therapy for all premenopausal women," he says. "But that may end up being the case; we may know more in about six months."