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VIDEO: Selecting patients for prolonged letrozole therapy requires discussion of benefits, drawbacks
Extending aromatase inhibitor treatment with letrozole from 5 to 10 years following the results of the MA.17R trial will entail reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of continued therapy with patients, according to Julie R. Gralow, MD, of the University of Washington School of Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Gralow, who served as a study investigator, reviews the results of the trial and factors to consider when selecting patients for extended therapy. “I’m not sure that all patients need extended aromatase inhibitor therapy, just as I don’t think all patients need extended tamoxifen,” she said.
However, individuals with ER-positive breast cancer have “a small but real risk of relapse that extends out decades,” and this trial will be important to discuss with many individuals, Gralow said. She will be utilizing extended therapy with letrozole after reviewing the side effects, including hot flashes and vasomotor and sexual symptoms, with patients.