Aromatase inhibitors: A comprehensive review in mechanisms of action, side effects and treatment in postmenopausal early breast cancer patients

Abstract

The best adjuvant treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, especially in the postmenopausal population, is not an unexceptionable decision and depends on several and many times unequal parameters. Apart from the mechanisms of action which are more or less the same among different agents, the two major factors for consideration are the potential side effects and treatment benefits of the selected drug. The last fifteen years have clearly shown that aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are significantly more effective than tamoxifen in preventing recurrence in this group of patients, but they seem to have no beneficial effect on overall survival. The analysis and results of major controlled randomized trials are taken into consideration every time we are called upon to select the best effective adjuvant treatment for well surgically-controlled early breast cancer in a postmenopausal woman. In the present review, we attempt a comprehensive review of the recent English literature in order to unfold the potent aspects for this decision.

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