Hi, I'm Dr. Jay Harness from Breast Cancer Answers. What is Letrozole?
What's the use for this medication and what are the side effects?
Well before answering that question, let me first of all take this opportunity to
thank our sponsor Breast Cancer Index, it's a test that may help women with
estrogen receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer to decide with their
physicians whether to extend or in anti-hormonal therapy after five years.
Letrozole. Letrozole is the generic name for a drug called Fermara and Fermara is one
of the types of aromatase inhibitors used as anti-hormone therapy in
menopausal women with breast cancer. The menopause can be natural menopause or
can be induced by surgery. The aromatase inhibitors have been shown to be more
effective than tamoxifen and so they're very much the drug of choice in
menopausal women with breast cancer. Now like all medications there are side effects
the number one side effect that women complain about with aromatase inhibitors
including letrozole is bone and joint pain. This may be related to the
reabsorption of calcium which is more of a problem in the use of aromatase
inhibitors then it is when we're using Tamoxifen. The other side
effects associated with Letrozole are the typical menopausal side effects
including restlessness, the inability to sleep,
hot flashes , he occasional diarrhea, hair loss potentially those are the sort of
typical side effects
menopausal women are complaining about
all of the time particularly, obviously if they're not on hormonal therapy. Is there
an issue with blood clots with Letrozole? There is, but the incidents are much
smaller that is with Tamoxifen. And that incidence is already small to begin
with. You know, there are no perfect solutions when it comes to the treatment
of breast cancer. The effectiveness of anti hormone therapy and invasive breast
cancer is very well-established, it's a fundamental part of what we call the
adjuvant or in addition to treatment of breast cancer because it's treating the
whole body with anti-hormone therapy particularly important with invasive
breast cancers where cells can have circulated elsewhere in the body.
The anti-hormone therapies are also important in helping to decrease the
chance of a cancer reoccurring in the treated breast after a lumpectomy. Also having
a preventive effect on the remaining breast so it's a very important part of
our overall treatment of breast cancer. There are no side effects that can't be dealt
with. The important thing with the aromatase inhibitors is the use of
calcium supplements to help with the bone loss and if you get into things like
depression or the hot flashes, the medical oncologists have other thoughts
and treatments for those side effects as well. So hopefully you find this discussion
of letrozole and its side effects useful. Remember how important anti-hormone
therapy is in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.
Let me wrap up by thanking our sponsor Breast Cancer Index. To find out more about
your treatment options beyond year five, just Click the Button and download our
FREE list of 15 questions to go through with your physician.