Letrozole and ILC

BettyBoo
BettyBoo Member Posts: 72
edited June 2014 in ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)

This came out of San Antonio

http://www.healio.com/hematology-oncology/breast-cancer/news/online/{4dff5fa8-3eb5-47cb-98bb-18497b3ae3c3}/efficacy-of-letrozole-varied-by-histology-for-patients-with-lobular-carcinoma

Seems ILC is very different after all.

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Comments

  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited December 2012

    It would be good if the mods could translate this article into laywoman's language.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited December 2012

    Here is a version comprehensible to ordinary folk, like patients for example: http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/SABCS/36305

    As far as I can see, the bottom line is that femara works better than tamox in general, but especially so in the case of lobular cancer.

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  • kar123
    kar123 Member Posts: 273
    edited December 2012

    I wonder if this applies to any AI or just Femera?  I thought Arimidex/Femera/Aromasin were all basically the same. 

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  • Galsal
    Galsal Member Posts: 1,886
    edited December 2012

    thanks for sharing!

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  • Gitane
    Gitane Member Posts: 1,885
    edited December 2012

    http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/blog/onlinefirst/pages/post.aspx?PostID=619 

    ONLINE FIRST: Breast Cancer: Magnitude of Letrozole Benefit Varies by Histology and ER-Subtype

     

    Sorry, I can't post a live link, but this is an article on this study that was published on line yesterday. Cut and paste should work.  It's very easy to read and has good information, especially concerning treatment effect on post menopausal women with lobular breast cancer, with Femara being superior to Tamoxifen at 8 years of follow up.

     

    Thanks for finding this for us!!!

     

    Edited to say a live link showed up in the post.  Hope it works.

     

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  • momand2kids
    momand2kids Member Posts: 1,508
    edited December 2012

    Thanks for this... what is the current wisdom on staying on AI's past 5 years???  I will be at that point next year- and would LOVE to start making my exit plan from femara..... but at the time of my surgery, there was discussion of extending it to 8-10 years..... which I find now unimaginable......

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  • Texas357
    Texas357 Member Posts: 1,552
    edited December 2012

    That's reassuring to me!

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  • conniehar
    conniehar Member Posts: 954
    edited December 2012

    Interesting.  I was just moved to Femara after 5 years on Tamox.   Hopefully, that is a good thing for me!

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited December 2012

    Momand2, I don't know, but plan to ask my docs next time. I am only a year in, but curious about this also. As far as I know there are some studies running on this, but they have not been completed.

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  • Hood1980
    Hood1980 Member Posts: 537
    edited March 2013

    Has anyone switched from Tamoxifen to Letrozole?  My onc is requesting I stay on Tamoxifen for 10 years or switch after 5 years to 5 more years of an AI & this study would indicate Letrozole (Femara) would be a better choice.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited March 2013

    Hood, I would discuss with onc again in light of this study. You do, however, need to be past menopause to take letrozole.

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  • Mela3
    Mela3 Member Posts: 5
    edited March 2013

    Hi Ladies, I made the switch to letrozole in January after 2 years on Tamoxifen. I looked over the stats on that study and less women with ILC in the Letrozole (Femara) group had to deal with more cancer than in the Tamoxifen group. Since the chemo shut down my ovaries in 2010, I'm technically post-menopausal and for me it was time. You need to talk to your oncologist about when and if you can switch, but overall, it seems like if you are past menopause, it might be best to switch to an Aromatase Inhibitor(like letrozole or Arimidex) at some point.  ILCs seem to have a higher recurrence rate after 5 years than the IDCs, so for those of us with lobular(ILC) cancers it might be a good idea to hang in there after the 5 year mark.  The study everyone is talking about is still going on. The results now at 8 years, showed an advantage to stayin on treatment. We'll have to wait to see what happens when they get to 10 years. You have to make the decisions that you can live with. The side effects are not easy to deal with but I'm thankful that we have the option. Personally- I'd put up with a LOT to prevent needing surgery, chemo or radiation again!

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  • Hood1980
    Hood1980 Member Posts: 537
    edited April 2013

    Thank you Momine  & Mela3.  I have a lot to discuss with my onc during my next appoinment.  To further complicate the issue, it will be my first appoinment with a new onc.  Unfortunately, the one I've had since diagnosis has transferred to a different hospital.  I'm used to being testing to see if I am post menopausal.  It appears to me that I am, but my blood work always puts me in that gray category.  That is why I haven't been switched off of tamoxifen yet. 

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