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however they have not been able to demonstrate an impact on
overall survival.1620 A meta-analysis by Jonat and Gnant included
three trials that compared sequenced therapy with anastrozole
following two to three years of tamoxifen, versus tamoxifen on its
own.21 Disease free survival was significantly prolonged in favour of
sequenced therapy (HR 0.59 [95% CI 0.480.78] p < 0.0001). There
was evidence of prolonged overall survival (HR 0.71, [0.520.98]
p 0.0377). Their methodology had some limitations; no more
than two databases were searched (PubMedandClinicalTrials.gov)
and no discussion of potential conflict of interest despite funding
from the pharmaceutical industry. The addition of newstudies such
as BIG 1-98 trial and ABCSG 8, and updates of previous trials, such
as the IE study, adds to the call for a new review that includes the
three types of AIs.16,18,22 This review will not only look at the role of
AIs as sequenced therapy, but also as monotherapy and extended
therapy. Patient groups have highlighted the importance of quality
of life (QoL) in the choice of hormonal therapy.1 RCTs on QoL were
therefore actively sought.
The results from the RCTs have led to changes in the British and
American guidelines, which now recommend clinicians to consider
AIs in specific patients.1,23 However, many questions still remain on
the optimal therapy regime. A review that studies all three treat-
ments regimes andincludes quality of life as an outcome measure isneeded to provide clinicians and patients with more information
when choosing adjuvant therapy. The aim was therefore to
systematically review all currently available evidence from rando-
mised controlled trials on the optimal hormonal adjuvant therapy
regime for post-menopausal women with oestrogen sensitive early
breast cancer.
Materials and methods
Study selection
All RCTs that compare the following treatment regimes; direct
comparison between tamoxifen versus an AI, sequenced therapy,
and extended therapy (AI versus placebo or no treatment followingadjuvant treatment), was searched for. Any types of AIs in standard
dosages wereaccepted. Participants had to be post-menopausal and
have undergone surgery for oestrogen sensitive early breast cancer.
Outcomes
The primary outcome measures were overall survival (OS)
(including death from any cause), disease free survival (DFS)
(defined as time to recurrence at any site, contra-lateral breast
cancer or death from any cause) and QoL. Trials containing data on
at least one of the primary outcomes were included. Secondary
outcomes were event-free survival (defined as time to recurrence
at any site), distant-recurrence-free survival, number of drop-outs,
adverse events and other outcomes, which were not pre-specifiedbut were considered important in the trial.
Search methods
The databases Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
(CENTER), MEDLINE(R) and EMBASE (via OVID), in addition to
reference and abstract lists, were searched in February 2009. No
language restrictions were used. The Clinical Trial Register (http://
www.clinicaltrial.gov) was searched to identify additional unpub-
lished trials. The following free text search terms were used; breast
cancer, breast neoplasm, breast carcinoma, breast tumour, breast
tumor, tamoxifen, nolvadex, aromatase inhibitor, anastrozole, ari-
midex, letrozole, exemestane, aromasin and femara. MeSH terms
included aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen and breast neoplasm. The
investigator reviewed each title to identify clearly irrelevant
studies. A pre-specified Inclusion/Exclusion form was used to
identify eligible studies. The inclusion requirements were the
following: RCT, female subjects, oestrogen sensitive tumours,
confirmed post-menopausal status and early stage cancer. The full
text was obtained if a paper could not be rejected by evaluation of
the title or abstract alone. The computer software EndNote was
used to manage references. Any duplicates were excluded by
comparing authors, location, participants and dates. The latest
report was used in case trials had been reported more than once.
Quality assessment
Internal validity was assessed by using a risk of biases table in
the data extraction form. The questions were adopted from The
Cochrane Collaborations tool for assessing risk of the following
biases; selection, performance, detection, reporting and attrition.24
Data extraction
Data extractionwas carried out by MLJ using a standardised data
extraction form, and validated by the second reviewer SJL. The data
extraction form was piloted on a few studies and revised accord-
ingly. Data from multiple papers of the same trial was recorded on
a single data extraction sheet. Details of study design, risk of bias
assessment, participants, and data on outcomes was collected. The
author was contacted in case of missing information. No outcome
was obtained by reading curves. Definitions of post-menopausal
status were included as arbitrary use between trials has been
reported.25
Data analysis
Meta-analyses were undertaken in the Review Manager Soft-
ware (version 5.0) and based on the intention-to-treat principle.
Hazard ratios for survival outcomes, and relative risks for adverse
events, were calculated with 95% confidence interval for eachsubgroup. The random effect model was used in the meta-analyses
to take into account the variability that exists between patients.
Heterogeneity was assessed with the MantelHaentszel Chi-square
test andI2 test. Allp-values are two-sided.
Results
Description of included studies
Our search identified 836 references (see Fig. 1), of which 677
could be excluded from screening the title alone or because they
were duplicates. The abstracts, or the paper if required, of 159
potential RCTs were evaluated further. 132 were excluded because
they did not fulfil the requirements in the inclusion/exclusion form.
Fig. 1. Flow chart of the process of inclusion of trials for review.
M.L. Josefsson, S.J. Leinster / The Breast 19 (2010) 7683 77
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Two ongoing studies (TEAM and NSABP B-42) were excluded prior
to the analysis as no data was yet available.26,27 The ABCSG trial 6
was excluded as it studied aminoglutethimide in combination with
tamoxifen.28 The Italian co-operative trial, which explored amino-
glutethimide as sequenced therapy, failed to recruit the planned
number of participants and was excluded due to lack of outcome
data.29 Nine trials of 28 632 patients in total were included in this
review. SeeTable 1for trial characteristics. The included trials are
divided into three subgroups depending on their treatment regime;
monotherapy (AI vs. tamoxifen), sequenced therapy (tamoxifen
switched to an AI vs. tamoxifen on its own) and extended therapy
(extended AI treatment following adjuvant therapy for 5 years vs.
placebo or no treatment). Two studies, ATAC (ISRCTN18233230)
and BIG 1-98 (NCT00004205), report data on AI as mono-
therapy.18,3038 BIG 1-98 consisted of four arms (letrozole mono-
therapy, tamoxifen monotherapy, sequential tamoxifen followed by
letrozole, and sequential letrozole followed by tamoxifen). Results
from the monotherapy subgroup only areincludedin this review, as
the sequential arms are compared with letrozole, rather than
tamoxifen.38 Four trials were identified for sequenced therapy;
ABCSG trial 8 (NCT00291759), ARNO-95 (NCT00287534), IE study
(ISRCTN11883920) and ITA (NCT00286117).16,22,39-42Three RCTs on
extended therapy were identified; MA.17 (NCT00003140), NSABPB-33 and ABCSG trial 6a (NCT00300508).20,43-45 Four studies
included QoL as outcome measures (NSABP B-33, and substudies of
the ATAC trial, the IE study and MA.17).45,46-48 The latest reports on
adverse events in the included trials were used for the safety
analyses.
Methodological quality
The following studies were assessed as of high quality; the ATAC
trial,BIG 1-98, IE studyand MA.17. ABCSG6a, ARNO-95 andITAwere
open-labelled and of weaker methodological quality. NSABP B-33
was transformed from a blinded trial into an open-labelled study
when it wasstoppedprematurely. The methodological quality of the
ABCSG 8 could not be assessed, as it is yet unpublished.
Monotherapy
The ATAC trial compared anastrozole and tamoxifen for five
years and the results after 100 months are included in this review.
They initially included a trial arm of combined anastrozole and
tamoxifen, which was stopped prematurely as no efficacy benefit
could be demonstrated. The BIG 1-98 trial compared letrozole and
tamoxifen for five years. Pooled data from the two trials demon-
strated a statistical significant benefit in DFS in favour of AI treat-
ment for five years compared with tamoxifen (HR 0.89, [0.830.96]
p 0.002) (seeFig. 2). No difference was seen in overall survival
(HR 0.94, [0.821.08]p 0.39) (seeFig. 3).
Sequenced therapy
The IE Study compared sequenced therapy with tamoxifen
followed by exemestane for five years in total, versus tamoxifen
on its own. There was a high number of drop-outs in both
intervention and control groups (1012/2372 and 1026/2352
respectively). The ITA study and ARNO-95 both examined
sequenced therapy with tamoxifen followed by anastrozole
compared with tamoxifen alone for five years. When their data
on DFS was pooled together there was a statistical significant
benefit seen in patients on sequenced therapy (HR 0.72,
[0.630.83] p < 0.00001) (see Fig. 2). Sequenced therapy with
tamoxifen and anastrozole was also studied in ABCSG trial 8.
Their data is not yet published; however it was presented at theSan Antonio conference in December 2008. Relapse free survival
(RFS) is their main outcome, which is different to DFS in that it
does not include death. Their unpublished data suggest a benefit
in RFS for sequenced therapy (HR 0.79, [0.650.95] p 0.038).
Meta-analysis of OS for the three published trials showed a weak
statistically significant benefit in favour of the switching regime
(HR 0.72 [0.521.00] p 0.05) (figure provided in online mate-
rial). A statistically more robust result (HR for OS 0.78,
[0.680.91] p 0.001), in favour of sequenced therapy, could be
seen when data from ABCSG 8 was included in the meta-analysis
(seeFig. 3).
Extended therapy
The trial ABCSG 6a, continuing on from ABCSG 6, compared
anastrozole versus no further treatment, following five years of
adjuvant therapy. There was a large number of drop-outs in both
intervention and control groups (128/386 and 109/466 respec-
tively). Their main outcome was RFS, similarly to ABCSG 8. Patients
Table 1
Characteristics of included studies. Yrs years, ATAC Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination, BIG 1-98 The Breast International Group 1-98, ABCSG 8 Austrian
Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group trial 8. ARNO-95 Arimidex-Nolvadex trial 95, ITA Italian tamoxifen anastrozole trial, IE study Intergroup Exemestane Study,
ABCSG 6a Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group trial 6a, NSABP B-33 National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-33 Trial.
Intervention regime Control Follow-up
(months)
Study
sample
Age Node-positive Node-negative
Monotherapy
ATAC Anastrozole 5 yrs Tamoxifen 5 yrs 100 6241 64.1 34.0% 50.0%
BIG 1-98 Letrozole 5 yrs Tamoxifen 5 yrs 76 4922 61 57.3% 41.3%Total 11163
Sequenced therapy
ABCSG 8 Tamoxifen 2 yrs/anastrozole 3 yrs Tamoxifen 5 yrs 72 3714 33.5% < 60 25.4% 74.6%
66.5% 60
ARNO-95 Tamoxifen 2 yrs/anastrozole 3 yrs TamoxIfen 5 yrs 30.1 979 60.7 26.5% 73.5%
IE Study Tamoxifen 23 yrs /exemestane 23 yrs Tamoxifen 5 yrs 55.7 4724 60.3 44.2% 51.8%
ITA Tamoxifen 23 yrs/anastrozole 23 yrs Tamoxifen 5 yrs 64 448 63 >99%
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on extended therapy were seen to survive longer without any loco-
regional recurrences, contra-lateral breast cancer or distant
metastasis (HR 0.62 [0.400.96] p 0.31). No data on DFS was
reported. The MA.17 trial compared letrozole versus placebo as
extended therapy. Their findings suggested a benefit in DFS for
extended letrozole therapy (HR 0.68, [0.550.83] p 0.0001).
Meta-analysis of data from MA.17 and ABCSG 6a showed no
difference in OS between extended therapy and placebo or no
treatment (HR 0.85 [0.651.11]p 0.24) (seeFig. 3). The placebo-
controlled trial NSABP B-33 studied exemestane as extended
therapy. It was stopped early due to efficiency benefits seen in
MA.17. Patients were unblinded and the control group was
permitted to switch to exemestane. The results, based on the ITT
population prior to unblinding, did not demonstrate any statisti-
cally significant improvement in four-year DFS (HR 0.68,p 0.07,
95%CI not stated). Conclusions on OS could not be drawn because of
too few deaths, and their results are therefore not included in the
meta-analysis.
Study or Subgroup
2.1.1 Monotherapy
BIG 1-98
ATAC
Subtotal (95% CI)
Heterogeneity: Tau = 0.00; Chi = 2.04, df = 1 (P = 0.15); I = 51%
Test for overall effect: Z = 0.85 (P = 0.39)
2.1.2 Sequenced therapy
ARNO-95
ITA
ABSCG trial 8
IE study
Subtotal (95% CI)
Heterogeneity: Tau = 0.00; Chi = 3.24, df = 3 (P = 0.36); I = 7%Test for overall effect: Z = 3.25 (P = 0.001)
2.1.3 Extended therapy
MA.17
ABCSG trial 6a
Subtotal (95% CI)
Heterogeneity: Tau = 0.00; Chi = 0.09, df = 1 (P = 0.77); I = 0%
Test for overall effect: Z = 1.17 (P = 0.24)
log[Hazard Ratio]
-0.1393
0
-0.6349
-0.5798
-0.2614
-0.1625
-0.1985
-0.1165
SE
0.0795
0.0567
0.3124
0.3598
0.1155
0.0912
0.1862
0.2046
Weight
43.3%
56.7%100.0%
7.2%
5.5%
37.4%
49.8%100.0%
54.0%
46.0%100.0%
IV, Random, 95% CI
0.87 [0.74, 1.02]
1.00 [0.89, 1.12]0.94 [0.82, 1.08]
0.53 [0.29, 0.98]
0.56 [0.28, 1.13]
0.77 [0.61, 0.97]
0.85 [0.71, 1.02]0.78 [0.68, 0.91]
0.82 [0.57, 1.18]
0.89 [0.60, 1.33]0.85 [0.65, 1.11]
Hazard Ratio Hazard Ratio
IV, Random, 95% CI
0.2 0.5 1 2 5Favours experimental Favours control
Fig. 3. Forest plot of Overall Survival (OS). SE
standard error, CI
confidence interval.
Study or Subgroup
1.1.1 Monotherapy
BIG 1-98
ATAC
Subtotal (95% CI)
Heterogeneity: Tau = 0.00; Chi = 0.09, df = 1 (P = 0.77); I = 0%
Test for overall effect: Z = 3.08 (P = 0.002)
1.1.2 Sequenced therapy
ITA
ARNO-95
IE study
Subtotal (95% CI)
Heterogeneity: Tau = 0.00; Chi = 2.07, df = 2 (P = 0.36); I = 3%
Test for overall effect: Z = 4.68 (P < 0.00001)
log[Hazard Ratio]
-0.1278
-0.1054
-0.5621
-0.4155
-0.2744
SE
0.0589
0.0477
0.1998
0.2078
0.0733
Weight
47.4%
52.6%
100.0%
18.6%
17.4%
64.0%
100.0%
IV, Random, 95% CI
0.88 [0.78, 0.99]
0.90 [0.82, 0.99]
0.89 [0.83, 0.96]
0.57 [0.39, 0.84]
0.66 [0.44, 0.99]
0.76 [0.66, 0.88]
0.72 [0.63, 0.83]
Hazard Ratio Hazard Ratio
IV, Random, 95% CI
0.2 0.5 1 2 5
Favours experimental Favours control
Fig. 2. Forest plot of Disease Free Survival (DFS). SE standard error, CI confidence interval.
M.L. Josefsson, S.J. Leinster / The Breast 19 (2010) 7683 79
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Subset analyses of nodal status
Attempts were made to undertake subset meta-analyses of
node-negative and node-positive patients; however few trials
reporteddata on OS (BIG 1-98 andMA.17) or DFS(BIG 1-98, IE study,
MA.17 and NSABP B-33). OS benefit for node-positive patients was
initially seen in MA.17, although no difference was demonstrated in
the follow-up (node ve HR 0.84 [95% CI 0.631.12]).43 No differ-
ence in OS was seen in BIG 1-98 (node ve HR 0.82 [0.681.00] vs.
node-ve HR 0.91 [0.701.18]). DFS benefit for node-positivepatients,
but not for node-negative were reported in BIG 1-98 (node ve HR
0.83 [0.710.98] vs. node-ve HR 0.89 [0.741.08]), and NSABP B-33
(HR0.50 [0.290.85] vs. HR 1.13 [0.622.07]). Theresult from NSABP
B-33 should be viewed with some caution because of its study
design. DFS benefits were seen for both subgroups in the IE study
(HR 0.74, [0.590.94], vs.HR 0.72[0.610.86]),and in MA.17 (HR 0.45
[0.280.72] vs. HR 0.60 [0.440.82]). ATAC and ABCSG 6a used time
to recurrence (excluding death) instead of DFS (ATAC HR 0.84
[0.711.00] vs. HR 0.68 [0.510.81], and ABCSG 6a HR 0.61
[0.341.09] vs. HR 0.61 [0.321.16]).
Safety analyses
Meta-analyses were performed for skeletal, endometrial and
cardiovascular adverse events where data was available (seeFig. 4).
Significant differences in fracture risks in favour of tamoxifen were
seen in the monotherapy (RR 1.43 [1.261.62] p < 0.0001), and
sequenced therapy subgroup (RR 1.36 [1.051.76] p 0.02),
whereas no difference was observed between AIs and placebo in
the extended setting (RR 1.17 [0.941.46] p 0.15). The risk of
endometrial cancer was lower for AIs, compared with tamoxifen
(RR 0.34 [0.160.71] p 0.005). The risk was similar between
sequenced therapy and tamoxifen (RR 0.45 [0.151.37] p 0.16.),
although there was a significant difference in risk of endometrial
hyperplasia (RR 0.14 [0.040.51] p 0.003). No differences
were seen for cardiovascular disease (RR for monotherapy 1.13
[0.961.33] p 0.14; RR for sequenced therapy 1.16 [0.921.46]p 0.21, and RR for extended therapy 1.50 [0.415.49] p 0.54).
However, a lower risk of thromboembolic events was observed for
AIs compared with tamoxifen (RR 0.53 [0.370.74] p 0.0003).
Meta-analyses on additional adverse events (i.e. lipids alterations
and osteoporosis) could not be performed because of lack of data
and varying definitions being used between trials.
Quality of life impact
No clinically important differences in overall QoL between the
intervention and the control were seen in any of the four QoL sub-
studies to the ATAC trial, IE study, MA.17 and NSABP B-33. Not
enough data was available to perform meta-analyses; however the
differencesin median changes between intervention and control arepresented in Table 2, together with study characteristics. Three
questionnaires were used; the Functional Assessment of Cancer
Therapy Breast (FACT-B) (ATAC and IE study), 36-Item Short Form
Health Survey (SF-36) (MA.17) and Menopause-specific QoL ques-
tionnaire (MENQOL) (NSABP B-33 and MA.17). The number of drop-
outs increased with time in all trials, the response rate was for
example 54.6% at 24 months in MA.17. However, ATAC and IE study
reported that 83% and 85.3% respectively, of their questionnaires
had been completed. Both intervention and control groups in the
ATAC substudy reported a median increase in QoL of 2.9 points over
60 months. A small difference in favour of tamoxifen was seen in
theIE studyduring thetrialperiodof 24months (0.89 [0.221.99]).
A change in five points is considered clinically important and thus
the difference was not significant. The SF-36 scores of patients
receiving letrozole and placebo were similar over 36 months in
MA.17. No significant differences were seen in any of the four
MENQOL domains (vasomotor, psychosocial,physical and sexual) in
NSABP B-33, while a worsening in QoL related to vasomotor
symptoms were reported in MA.17 (p < 0.001) but not in any of the
other domains. Results from the MENQOL questionnaire were not
included in the table as not enough information was available.
Fig. 4. Forest plot of adverse events. SE standard error, CI confidence interval.
M.L. Josefsson, S.J. Leinster / The Breast 19 (2010) 768380
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Discussion
We report efficiency benefits seen in treatment regimes that
contain aromatase inhibitors. Evidence from all three subgroups
showed that treatment regimes that include an aromatase inhibitorprolong disease free survival. The biggest effect was seen for
sequencedtherapy (HR 0.72 [95% CI 0.630.83]p < 0.00001). This is
in accordance with the meta-analysis of sequenced therapy by Jonat
and Gnant (HR for DFS 0.59 [0.480.78] p < 0.0001).21 Ingle et al.
have presented data from their yet unpublished meta-analyses of
monotherapy and sequenced therapy.49 Their results show reduced
rates of breast cancer recurrences in patients on AI therapy, both in
the monotherapy cohort (absolute reduction 2.7%, standard error
[SE] 0.7) and in the sequenced therapy cohort (absolute reduction
3.5%, SE1.1). So far no study, which weare aware of, has been able to
demonstrate a long-term benefit in overall survival in the mono-
therapy andextended therapy setting. An explanation might be that
second line treatment can be added to the management of patients
in the control group when the cancer recurs, which is not an alter-native to patients in the intervention group. Jonat and Gnant found
some evidence forprolonged OS in favour of sequencedtherapy (HR
0.71 [0.520.98]p 0.0377). Our meta-analysis provides stronger
statistical evidence (HR for sequenced therapy: 0.78 [0.680.91]
p 0.001). The result should be viewed with some caution as the
analysis includes unpublished data from the ABCSG trial 8.
This review does not provide information on the efficiency of
sequenced therapy compared with AI monotherapy. The findings
fromthe sequential arms ofBIG 1-98 showed nodifferences in DFSor
OS compared with letrozole on its own (tamoxifen/ letrozole: DFS
HR 1.05 [99%CI 0.841.32], OS HR 1.13 [0.831.53], and letrozole/
tamoxifen: DFS HR 0.96 [0.761.21], OS HR 0.90 [0.841.32]).38
Further research that directly compares sequenced therapy and AI
monotherapy are needed.The reported adverse events were generally consistent with
previous studies.57,14,15 The number of total events was low for
some of the included trials in the meta-analyses, particularly for
endometrial events. Larger studies with longer follow-up are
necessary to better assess adverse events, particularly rare condi-
tions such as endometrial cancer.
Types of AIs and the presence of lymph node metastasis vary
between the trials included in the meta-analyses, and could have
an effect on the results. However, it is unlikely as the trials are
homogeneous, which was confirmed with the Mantel-Haentszel
Chi-square test and I2 test. Variability between patients was further
accounted for by using the random effect model. Conflicting
evidence of the importance of nodal status was provided by the few
trials included in this review, although the majority did not show
any difference in efficiency benefit between node-positive and
node-negative patients.
Quality of life and cost-effectiveness need to be considered, in
addition to the efficiency data presented here, when discussing
optimal adjuvant regime. Patient groups have highlighted thesignificance of QoL on the choice of treatment.1 QoL is further
important as it may affect drug adherence. The QoL studies
included in this review showed that although side effects varies,
the QoL is overall comparable between the studied AI/sequenced
therapy and tamoxifen, or placebo in the extended setting. 44,4648
Further research that examines QoL as their main outcome is
needed to provide patients with information to aid the decision-
making process. Studies have shown AI therapy to be cost-effective
in all three settings.5054 Sequenced therapy with tamoxifen fol-
lowed by AI treatment was suggested as the most economically
preferred option in a Belgian cost-utility analysis by Skedgel et al.
that included data from the ATAC trial, IE study and MA.17.50
Conclusions
Evidence that AIs should be included in adjuvant therapy for
oestrogen sensitive early breast cancer is provided in this review,
which is the first study to include meta-analyses of three treatment
regimes: monotherapy, sequenced therapy and extended therapy.
Disease free survival was prolonged in all settings, with the biggest
effect seen for sequenced therapy. While extended AIs had no
impact on overall survival, upfront AIs were as effective as
tamoxifen. Importantly, women who switched to AI treatment after
two to three years of tamoxifen had prolonged overall survival
compared with those who stayed on tamoxifen for five years. We
conclude that sequenced therapy appears to be the preferred
treatment regime, even after its cost-effectiveness is considered.
Studies that evaluate QoL are needed to provide patients and healthcare professionals with further information when choosing adju-
vant hormonal therapy.
Conflict of interest statement
No conflict of interest declared.
Acknowledgments
We thank R. Jakesz and K. Thomanek for ABCSG trial 8 data, L.
Hooper for methodological advice, L. Shepstone for statistical
advice and J. de Boniface for translation. This work was supported
by the Jean Shanks Foundation Intercalated Grant (to MLJ).
Table 2
Characteristics of included Quality of Life studies and differences in median scores between intervention and control at 12, 24 and 36 months. ATAC HRQoL Arimidex,
Tamoxifen,Aloneor in Combination Health RelatedQualityof Life, IE studyQoL Intergroup ExemestaneStudy Quality of Life,NSABPB-33 NationalSurgical Adjuvant Breast
and Bowel Project B-33 Trial, FACT-B Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast, SF-36 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, MENQOL Menopause-specific QoL
questionnaire, yrs years.
Intervention regime Control Study
sample
Health
questionnaire
Median score difference (intervention control)
12 months 24 months 36 months
ATAC HRQoL Subscale Anastrozole Tamoxifen 682 FACT-B 1.7 0.4 0.4
IE Study QoL Substudy Tamoxifen /exemestane TamoxiFen 582 FACT-B 0.3 1.05 No dataMA.17 QoL Substudy Letrozole following 5 yrs of
adjuvant therapy
Placebo 3612 SF-36 0.0 0.0 0.05
NSABP B-33 Exemestane following 5 yrs
of tamoxifen
Placebo 454 MENQOL
Vasomotor 0.25 0.3
Psychosocial 0.1 0.55 No data
Physical 0.25 0.4
Sexual 0.1 0.4
Total 5330
M.L. Josefsson, S.J. Leinster / The Breast 19 (2010) 7683 81
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Appendix. Supplementary material
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in
the online version, atdoi:10.1016/j.breast.2009.12.010
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