New data show for the first time that high-dose treatment with AstraZeneca's Faslodex (fulvestrant) 500mg offers improved disease control compared with another AZ drug, the aromatase inhibitor Arimidex (anastrozole), when used as a first-line treatment for advanced hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
Findings from the FIRST trial, a randomized, open-label, Phase II study in postmenopausal women with locally-advanced or metastatic disease, were presented by the Anglo-Swedish drug major at the 31st annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
In the trial, women receiving fulvestrant 500mg experienced a clinical benefit rate (an established marker of disease response) of 72.5% compared with 67.0% for those given anastrozole (p=0.386) at a median follow-up of eight months. Although the study demonstrated a high level of clinical efficacy for both agents, the odds of achieving clinical benefit was 30% higher in women receiving fulvestrant 500mg (odds ratio 1.30 in favor of fulvestrant 500mg). In addition, those on fulvestrant 500mg had significantly prolonged time-to-disease progression, estimated to be 60% longer when compared with anastrozole (p<0.05).
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