Published in:
01-12-2008 | Short communication
Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics of endocrine agents for breast cancer
Author:
James N Ingle
Published in:
Breast Cancer Research
|
Special Issue 4/2008
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Excerpt
The clinician caring for women with early breast cancer is keenly aware of the variability observed when endocrine therapy with tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors (AIs) is employed. This is seen in outcomes of the disease in terms of recurrence but also, strikingly in some cases, in terms of adverse events. This can be seen in the case of AIs, in which some women develop disabling musculoskeletal events that result in their discontinuing therapy, whereas the majority develops no such adverse events. The same is true of other adverse events such as deep venous thrombosis, endometrial cancer and hot flashes in the case of tamoxifen. In the past, the focus in selection of therapy for women with breast cancer has been almost exclusively on the characteristics of the tumour (for example, oestrogen receptor [ER] and human epidermal growth factor receptor [HER]-2), with essentially no attention given to the genetic make-up of the patient. …
