Pfizer Highlights Updated Breast Cancer Guidelines

Pfizer highlighted updated breast cancer treatment guidelines last week that support switching postmenopausal patients with hormone-receptor-positive early breast cancer from treatment with tamoxifen, an older drug that has been in use for more than 20 years, to an aromatase inhibitor (AI), such as Pfizer’s Aromasin.

The new guidelines, published Aug. 2 in the Annals of Oncology, were developed by the 2007 St. Gallen International Expert Consensus on the Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer. Pfizer said the guidelines are a consensus among breast cancer experts worldwide. 

In hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, the St. Gallen panel expressed a clear preference for switching patients from tamoxifen to an AI, such as [Aromasin (exemestane)], which means more patients can benefit from exemestane’s proven results in extending lives,” Pfizer said.

There are three AIs approved by the FDA: Aromasin, AstraZeneca’s Arimidex (anastrozole) and Novartis’ Femara (letrozole). However, worldwide sales of Pfizer’s drug lag behind those of its rivals, totaling $185 million for the first six months of 2007, compared with $831 million for Arimidex and $439 million for Femara during the same period.