Treatment with formestane alone and in combination with aminoglutethimide in heavily pretreated breast cancer patients: Clinical and endocrine effects

We studied the clinical and endocrine effects of the aromatase inhibitor formestane (4-hydroxyandrostenedione, 4-OHA) in heavily pretreated breast cancer patients (median number of previous endocrine treatments 2, range 1–4). Of 30 patients eligible for response evaluation, 3 patients (10%) showed a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of cancer (1990) 1996-05, Vol.32 (5), p.789-792
Main Authors: Geisler, J., Johannessen, D.C., Anker, G., Lønning, P.E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
aminoglutethimide
Aminoglutethimide - administration & dosage
Androstenedione - administration & dosage
Androstenedione - analogs & derivatives
Androstenedione - therapeutic use
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use
aromatase inhibitor
Aromatase Inhibitors
Biological and medical sciences
breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - blood
Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy
endocrine treatment
Estrogens - blood
Female
formestane
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Mammary gland diseases
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Tumors
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Summary:We studied the clinical and endocrine effects of the aromatase inhibitor formestane (4-hydroxyandrostenedione, 4-OHA) in heavily pretreated breast cancer patients (median number of previous endocrine treatments 2, range 1–4). Of 30 patients eligible for response evaluation, 3 patients (10%) showed a partial response while 11 patients (36.7%) experienced stable disease over a time period of at least 6 months. Plasma levels of oestrone, oestradiol and oestrone sulphate were found suppressed to a mean of 33.9, 35.6 and 24.2% of control values. 4 of 6 patients experienced a further substantial reduction in plasma oestrone sulphate to < 5% of pretreatment values when aminoglutethimide (AG) was added after relapse on 4-OHA monotherapy. Our findings suggest that these aromatase inhibitors may suppress plasma oestrogen levels by a percentage approaching the percentage inhibition of in vivo aromatisation measured by tracer techniques.
ISSN:0959-8049
1879-0852
DOI:10.1016/0959-8049(95)00623-0