Anastrozole

A: Anastrozole lowers the level of oestrogen. It does this by blocking a substance in the body called aromatase. Anastrazole belongs to a type of hormone therapy called aromatase inhibitors. Lowering the level of oestrogen aims to prevent, stop or slow the growth of these cancers.

A: Anastrozole may cause or worsen osteoporosis. It can decrease the density of your bones and increase the chance of broken bones and fractures. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication and to find out what you can do to decrease these risks.

A: No. Anastrozole (Arimidex) is considered a hormone therapy rather than a chemotherapy medication. Unlike chemotherapy, which targets and kills cancer cells, anastrozole (Arimidex) works by stopping the growth of cancer cells. Some breast cancer cells need estrogen to grow.

A: Anastrozole does not cause memory loss, but an initial exposure to the drug can diminish concentration and working memory. There might be a second deterioration after 12-18 months. While tamoxifen contributes to deteriorated verbal and visual learning along with memory, Anastrozole does not cause any such side effects.

A: Anastrozole does not cause memory loss, but an initial exposure to the drug can diminish concentration and working memory. There might be a second deterioration after 12-18 months. While tamoxifen contributes to deteriorated verbal and visual learning along with memory, Anastrozole does not cause any such side effects.

A: Certain medications should be avoided or used with caution while taking anastrozole or letrozole.
Neuroleptics such as aripiprazole (Abilify) and pimozide (Orap)
Cardiac medications such as dofetilide (Tikosyn)
Pain medications such as hydrocodone (Vicodin) or methadone (Dolophine, Methadose)

A: You might take just anastrozole for the whole of the 5-year course of treatment, or you might take another breast cancer medicine called tamoxifen first, for 2 to 3 years, and then change to anastrozole for the remaining time.

A: Stopping anastrozole
Some people worry about stopping their treatment, but there's evidence that anastrozole continues to reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back for many years after you stop taking it. However, not taking the drug for the recommended time may increase the risk of your breast cancer coming back.

A: Patients switched to anastrozole had fewer disease recurrences (92 vs 159) and deaths (66 vs 90) than did those who remained on tamoxifen, resulting in significant improvements in disease-free survival (hazard ratio 0.59 [95% CI 0.48–0.74]; p < 0.0001), event-free survival (0.55 [0.42–0.71]; p < 0.0001), distant ...

A: Anastrozole alternatives: What can I take instead of anastrozole? Anastrozole doesn't work for everyone. Femara, Aromasin, Faslodex, tamoxifen, and Kisqali are some anastrozole alternatives. Get the full list here.

A: Protect your skin from the sun and the cold. Use sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection and a SPF of at least 30. Avoid perfumed products and lotions that contain alcohol. Drink 6 to 8 cups of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated liquids each day, unless your health care team has told you to drink more or less.

A: Coleman recommended that women taking anastrozole have their BMD monitored every 1 to 2 years. "They should also take calcium and vitamin D supplements during anastrozole therapy," he said. "It was interesting that women with a normal BMD at baseline did not develop osteoporosis," said Stephen Y.

A: If you want to stop taking anastrozole for any reason, your doctor will be able to discuss alternatives for treating your breast cancer or preventing it coming back. Sometimes people may have a short break from anastrozole. This can help if you're getting side effects such as joint pain.

A: Anastrozole increased the urinary excretion of the renal proximal tubule injury biomarker (kidney injury molecule-1), but the level of the glomerular injury biomarker (nephrin) was not elevated.

A: A significant decrease in non-breast cancers was observed for anastrozole (147 vs 200, odds ratio 0·72, 95% CI 0·57–0·91, p=0·0042), owing primarily to non-melanoma skin cancer. No excess of fractures or cardiovascular disease was observed.

A: Purpose: Treatment with an aromatase inhibitor for 5 years is the standard treatment for postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. We investigated the effects of extending this treatment to 10 years on disease-free survival (DFS).

A: Anastrozole is used to treat early hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. It is also used for first-line treatment of hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown advanced or metastatic (cancer that has spread) breast cancer.

A: You might take just anastrozole for the whole of the 5-year course of treatment, or you might take another breast cancer medicine called tamoxifen first, for 2 to 3 years, and then change to anastrozole for the remaining time.

A: Research shows that not taking hormonal therapy as prescribed (taking less medication than was prescribed, skipping doses, stopping early, never starting) can put you at greater risk for breast cancer recurrence, metastatic spread, or cancer-related death. The level of risk is not the same for everyone, though.

A: Although some patients have many years of disease control with a third-generation aromatase inhibitor such as anastrozole, the median survival is only 41.3 months.