Exemestane adverse effects

Options for adjuvant hormonal therapy in postmenopausal women include aromatase inhibitors (e.g. anastrozole, letrozole, or exemestane) either in place of or after tamoxifen. Adverse effects with aromatase inhibitors include hot flashes, myalgia/arthralgia, vaginal dryness/atrophy, mild headaches, and diarrhea. 

In 122 postmenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer who were randomized to exemestane 25 mg/day (n = 62) or tamoxifen 20 mg/day (n = 60), neither exemestane nor tamoxifen had adverse effects at 8, 24 or 48 weeks on concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 or B, or lipoprotein a (15). Exemestane lowered triglyceride concentrations while tamoxifen increased them. 

There may well be a role for combined therapy with both tamoxifen and an aromatase inhibitor if an optimal benefit to harm balance is to be attained, as suggested by a study of a combination of tamoxifen and exemestane for 8 weeks in 33 postmenopausal women with breast cancer (22). There was a striking absence of endocrine adverse effects. 

Exemestane is effective and selective for treating some pustmcnopausal women with hormone-dependent breast cancer, whose disea.se has progressed following tamoxifen treatment. Adverse reactions include a low incidence of... 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , , ]

See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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