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How to predict effectiveness of letrozole treatment in breast cancer?

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     Recent research from Yale School of Medicine has uncovered the importance of SEGFR, which is a breast cancer regulator. SEGFR could be used as a useful tool in monitoring breast cancer patient's responsiveness to the drug letrozole. These finding were published in a recent issue of the American Association of Cancer Researcher's journal Cancer Research. This study focuses on decreased concentrations of sEGFR associated with effectiveness of letrozole.

    Maihle and her colleagues collected blood samples from postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer before treatment with letrozole and then one month and three months after letrozole therapy. The team measured sEGFR concentrations in these blood samples and found that after one month of letrozole therapy, sEGFR decreased in 73 percent of patients and after three months of letrozole therapy, sEGFR concentrations decreased in 76 percent of patients when compared to pretreatment levels.

    In women with postmenopausal breast cancer, the hormone estrogen often stimulates tumor growth. Letrozole, which is currently used in breast cancer therapy, stops the local production of estrogen, therefore reducing tumor growth. To monitor the effectiveness of this drug's reduction in tumor growth, estrogen levels are measured. In postmenopausal women with breast cancer, estrogen can be difficult to measure because the levels are already quite low. The Yale team, led by Nita J. Maihle, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, discovered sEGFR, another regulator of breast cancer growth that can be used to measure responsiveness to treatment.

    "Unfortunately, the number of patients (43) involved in this study was not large enough to evaluate how these changes in sEGFR levels predict a patient's cancer progression or survival," said Maihle. "Since the FDA recently approved letrozole for the treatment of breast cancer, larger studies are needed to determine its clinical utility."

    "Ultimately, we hope to provide the most effective ways to determine who will respond to this new breast cancer therapy," added Maihle, who is also affiliated with Yale Cancer Center.

    Other authors on the study included Jacqueline M. Lafky, Andre T. Baron, Elsa M. Cora, David W. Hillman, Vera J. Suman, Edith A. Perez and James N. Ingle.

    It is scientifically confirmed that letrozole treatment is quite effective for breast reduction. Those women who are suffering from big breasts can use natural breasts reduction methods which can easily reduce their breast.