Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Improved overall survival in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer after anastrozole initiated after treatment with tamoxifen compared with continued tamoxifen: the ARNO 95 Study.
In postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer, surgery is usually followed by a 5-year course of tamoxifen. This report presents results of a prospective, open-label, randomized study, designed to evaluate the benefits of switching to anastrozole after 2 years of tamoxifen treatment, compared with continuing on tamoxifen for 5 years. ⋯ Postmenopausal women who have taken tamoxifen for 2 years as adjuvant therapy are less likely to experience a recurrence of breast cancer and have improved overall survival if they switch to anastrozole compared with continuing to receive tamoxifen.