Endocrine Abstracts

For the last 3 decades tamoxifen has been the mainstay of the endocrine treatment of breast cancer. In early hormone receptor positive disease, 5 years of tamoxifen reduces the annual odds of death by c.25% and this has been a major contributor to the reduction in mortality from breast cancer in the UK since 1988. The generally good tolerability of tamoxifen has also led to its use in trials of chemoprevention where it has been found to reduce the early risk of presenting with...

Abiraterone acetate is a potent, selective inhibitor of CYP17, a key enzyme that catalyses the conversion of pregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and progesterone to androstenedione. Inhibition of this enzyme causes suppression of the synthesis of both androgens and oestrogens. Hence treatment with abiraterone acetate could impact on the development and progression of hormone-dependent breast and prostate cancers.In a phase I/II1,2 st...