Novel Hormone Therapy Combination Shown to Prolong Survival

A phase 3 randomized trial of two hormone therapies, anastrozole and Faslodex (fulvestrant), showed that in some postmenopausal women with hormone-positive metastatic breast cancer, the combo improves survival.

Both are approved for women with hormone-positive metastatic breast cancer. Faslodex is used when the cancer has stopped responding to other hormonal therapies. Anastrozole is an aromatase inhibitor also approved to prevent breast cancer from recurring in women with early-stage disease.

The trial, which was presented a breast cancer conference in December, included 707 women who had not been previously treated for metastatic cancer. The combination improved median survival from 41.3 months to 47.7 months.