The majority of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor and depend on estradiol (E2) for their growth. Hormonal therapy aims at depriving estrogen signaling either by using selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM)-that interfere with the binding of E2 to its receptor (ER)-or aromatase inhibitors (AI)-that block the aromatase-dependent synthesis of E2. While SERMs are recommended for b...

Breast cancer is a significant problem worldwide. Five years of Tamoxifen has been the established endocrine adjuvant therapy for both preand post-menopausal women for several decades, until the more recent introduction of AI’s for use in post-menopausal ER-positive EBC. There are three third generation AI’s currently available commercially these include non steroidal (anastrozole and letrozole...

The murine breast cancer cells (4T1) grown both in female BALB/c mice and in culture were treated with anastrozole (50 $\mu$ g/mL), tamoxifen citrate (5 $\mu$ g/mL), and the combination of the two drugs in order to determine treatment efficacies, toxic potential, and the mechanism of cell death. The in vivo treatments were evaluated by monitoring tumor growth, development, and life span. The in...

UNLABELLED Postmenopausal women on aromatase inhibitors (AI) are at risk of aromatase inhibitor-associated bone loss (AIBL) and fractures. In 2005 Osteoporosis Australia proposed an algorithm for bisphosphonate intervention. Three hundred and three postmenopausal women with early breast cancer (EBC) were enrolled (osteoporotic, n=25; osteopaenic, n=146; normal bone mineral density (BMD), n=126)...

Aromatase inhibitors are endocrine agents with a different mode of action than tamoxifen against breast tumors. In postmenopausal women, estrogen concentrations are maintained primarily via aromatase, a cytochrome P-450 enzyme that acts at the final step in the estrogen synthesis pathway. The first clinically available aromatase inhibitor, aminoglutethimide, was introduced for the second-line t...

BACKGROUND The waiting period to surgery represents a valuable "window of opportunity" to evaluate novel therapeutic strategies. Interventional studies performed during this period require significant multidisciplinary collaboration to overcome logistical hurdles. We undertook a one-year prospective window of opportunity study to assess feasibility. METHODS Eligible newly diagnosed postmenopa...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine the role of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype in the cognitive function of postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer prior to initiation of adjuvant therapy and over time with treatment. DESIGN Longitudinal, genetic association study. SETTING Urban university cancer center. SAMPLE Three cohorts of postmenopausal women: 37 women with breast cancer rec...

For the upfront adjuvant therapy of postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, the third-generation aromatase inhibitors (AIS) have shown a more favourable overall risk-benefit profile than has tamoxifen. Benefits of the ais include less frequent gynecologic, cerebrovascular, and thromboembolic adverse events; greater disease-free survival; and lower tumour recurrence. Although ap...

Increased oestrogen is a strong epidemiological risk factor for development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients, associated with metabolic defects. In addition, oestrogens drive penetrance in mice carrying mutations in bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR2), the cause of most heritable PAH. The goal of the present study was to determine whether inhibition of oestro...