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Quality of Life of Postmenopausal Women in the ATAC ("Arimidex", Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) Trial after Completion of 5 years' Adjuvant Treatment for Early Breast Cancer

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 13:38 authored by D. Cella, Lesley FallowfieldLesley Fallowfield, P. Barker, J. Cuzick, G. Locker, A. Howell
The impact of treatment on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important consideration in the adjuvant treatment of operable breast cancer. Here we report mature HRQoL outcomes from the ATAC trial, comparing anastrozole with tamoxifen as primary adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with localized breast cancer. Patients completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) questionnaire plus endocrine subscale (ES) at baseline, 3 and 6 months, and every 6 months thereafter. Baseline characteristics in the HRQoL sub-protocol were well balanced between the anastrozole (n = 335) and tamoxifen (n = 347) groups in the primary analysis population. As with previously published results at 2 years, there was no statistically significant difference in the Trial Outcome Index of the FACT-B, the primary endpoint of the study, between treatments at 5 years. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups in ES total scores. Consistent with the 2-year analysis, there were differences between treatment groups in patient-reported side effects: diarrhea (anastrozole 3.1% vs. tamoxifen 1.3%), vaginal dryness (18.5% vs. 9.1%), diminished libido (34.0% vs. 26.1%), and dyspareunia (17.3% vs. 8.1%) were significantly more frequent with anastrozole compared to tamoxifen. Dizziness (3.1% vs. 5.4%) and vaginal discharge (1.2% vs. 5.2%) were significantly less frequent with anastrozole compared to tamoxifen. In this, the first report of HRQoL over 5 years of initial adjuvant therapy with an aromatase inhibitor, we conclude that anastrozole and tamoxifen had similar impacts on HRQoL, which was maintained or slightly improved during the treatment period for both groups.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

ISSN

0167-6806

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

3

Volume

100

Page range

273-84

Department affiliated with

  • Sussex Health Outcomes Research & Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2006-12-15

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