Clinical breast cancer
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Clinical breast cancer · Dec 2014
Multicenter StudyExtended therapy with letrozole and ovarian suppression in premenopausal patients with breast cancer after tamoxifen.
In premenopausal women with breast cancer, standard adjuvant endocrine therapy has been 5 years of tamoxifen. This study sought to investigate the safety and feasibility of treating patients who remain premenopausal after adjuvant tamoxifen with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) concurrent with an aromatase inhibitor, mimicking the strategy that has proven effective in postmenopausal patients. ⋯ Extended therapy with GnRH-a and an aromatase inhibitor (plus optional bisphosphonate) is associated with substantial side effects in premenopausal women who have already completed > 4.5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen. This study's poor accrual suggests that young women may not be highly motivated to pursue lengthier courses of endocrine therapy and that future studies of this approach may be challenging.
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Clinical breast cancer · Dec 2014
Comparative StudyImpact of tumor removal on the systemic oxidative profile of patients with breast cancer discloses lipid peroxidation at diagnosis as a putative marker of disease recurrence.
Recent studies have suggested a regulatory role for some of the metabolites derived from oxidative stress in breast cancer. In this way, cancer-induced oxidative changes could modify the breast environment and potentially trigger systemic responses that may affect disease prognosis and recurrence. In this study, we investigated the systemic oxidative profile of women with early breast cancer bearing the primary tumor and after tumor withdrawal, and its long-term implications. ⋯ Our data suggest that the presence of the primary tumor is indicative of the systemic pro-oxidant status of breast cancer and demonstrates a role for lipid peroxidation in disease recurrence, highlighting the need for a metabolic follow-up of patients with cancer at diagnosis before tumor removal.