Breast cancer biologic therapy

Determine appropriate indications for endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, and biologic therapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer. 

TABLE 86-7. Biologic Therapy Used for Breast Cancer ... 

Fulvestrant is a new agent approved for the second-line therapy of postmenopausal metastatic breast cancer patients who have tumors that are hormone-receptor-positive. Studies examining the role of fulvestrant in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer have compared this agent with anastrozole. Given anas-trozole s mechanism of action, only postmenopausal women were eligible for these trials. There is no biologic reason why fulvestrant should not produce similar outcomes in premenopausal... 

Holli K, Isola J, Cuzick J (1997) Hormone replacement therapy and biological aggressiveness of breast cancer. Lancet 350 1704-1705... 

Sacchini V, Zurrida S, Andreoni G, Luini A, Galimberti V, Veronesi P, Intra M, Viale G, Veronesi U. Pathologic and biological prognostic factors of breast cancers in short- and long-term hormone replacement therapy users. Ann Surg Oncol 2002 9(3) 266-71. 

Shao, W. and Brown, M. (2004) Advances in estrogen receptor biology prospects for improvements in targeted breast cancer therapy. Breast Cancer Research, 6, 39-52. 

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