Aromatase inhibitors versus tamoxifen as adjuvant hormonal therapy for oestrogen sensitive early breast cancer in post-menopausal women: Meta-analyses of monotherapy, sequenced therapy and extended therapy

Adjuvant tamoxifen reduces relapses and prolongs survival in patients with oestrogen sensitive breast cancer. Development of resistance is however common. Tamoxifen can be given for a maximum of five years; although the risk of recurrences remains high after this period. This review examines nine randomised controlled trials including 28 632 women, which studied aromatase inhibitors (AIs) as an alternative to tamoxifen in three treatment settings: monotherapy (instead of tamoxifen), sequenced therapy (tamoxifen is switched to an AI) and extended therapy (following adjuvant tamoxifen). Disease free survival was significantly improved for monotherapy (HR 0.89, [95% CI 0.83–0.96] p = 0.002) and sequenced therapy (HR 0.72, [0.63–0.83] p < 0.00001). There was no difference in overall survival for monotherapy (HR 0.94, [0.82–1.08] p = 0.39) or extended therapy (HR 0.86 [0.79–1.16] p = 0.67). Importantly, overall survival was prolonged for patients who switched from tamoxifen to AI therapy (HR 0.78 95%CI 0.68–0.91, p = 0.001).