New Results From One of the World's Largest Bre...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

    - Benefits of Arimidex (Anastrozole) Over Tamoxifen at Preventing all 
Forms of Breast Cancer Recurrence Increase Over Time - Even Four Years After 
Treatment Ends


    
     "The greatest fear for women who have been treated for early breast   
    cancer is to have their cancer return, which ultimately means their
  disease is incurable. However, these new data show that with anastrozole,
  women have the best possible chance yet to live cancer-free - even after
                       their treatment has finished."

                   Professor Lesley Fallowfield, Director, Cancer Research UK
                        Psychosocial Oncology Group, University of Sussex, UK





    New data from ATAC(x), one of the world's largest and longest-running 
studies in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, reinforce that 
anastrozole can help many more women live cancer-free, for longer. For the 
first time, anastrozole has been shown to be the only treatment of its type 
to be increasingly better than tamoxifen in preventing tumours from 
returning.(1),(2) If cancer returns, women are much more likely to die - 
therefore, preventing breast cancer from returning ("recurrence") is key to 
saving lives.



Multimedia News Release: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/astrazeneca/30949/

    The landmark results - presented today at the prestigious annual San
Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), USA and also published online in The
Lancet Oncology - show that even four years after a woman's treatment
ends, the protective effect of anastrozole in reducing the risk of
hormone-sensitive early breast cancer from returning continues to increase.
Overall, women in the ATAC trial taking anastrozole were 24% less likely to
have their cancer come back, compared with those taking tamoxifen.(1),(2) 
This demonstrates the long-term impact of treatment decisions made at 
diagnosis and confirms the importance of starting treatment with anastrozole 
to help more women beat this devastating disease. Breast cancer currently 
affects 1.1 million women worldwide per year (3) and hormone-sensitive early 
disease accounts for around 75% of all cases of breast cancer in 
postmenopausal women.(4)



    Presenting the data at SABCS, Professor John Forbes, Newcastle Mater
Misericordiae Hospital, Australia commented: "Preventing recurrence is the
primary goal in breast cancer management. If we can stop the cancer from
returning, we can save more lives, more often. These exciting long-term
follow-up data show that anastrozole is a more effective treatment option
than tamoxifen for postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early stage
disease - thus it is imperative these women get the most effective treatment
at the earliest opportunity after diagnosis."



    Professor Forbes continued: "Prior to the ATAC trial, tamoxifen was the
standard of care for women with hormone-sensitive disease, with substantial
evidence to support its crucial place in practice. However, these new
100-month data from ATAC show us that compared with tamoxifen, anastrozole
can significantly reduce the risk of recurrence and minimise life-threatening
side effects. Most encouragingly, the data also show us that the protective
effect of anastrozole lasts well beyond the standard treatment period of five
years and in my opinion confirms there is no longer any rationale for
prescribing tamoxifen."



    A recent global survey showed that over 70% of physicians believe that
telling a patient her breast cancer has come back is worse than giving a
diagnosis of early breast cancer.(6) Recurrence, in the same breast, in the
opposite breast or at a distant tumour site means that the cancer is more
likely to be incurable and the patient is at risk of a bad outcome. It is
therefore essential for both patients and their physicians(xx) to know they 
are on a better therapy than tamoxifen to prevent the disease returning.



    The impact of treatment on quality of life is also an important
consideration in early breast cancer, and data have shown that the clinical
benefits of anastrozole are achieved without adversely affecting the quality
of patients' lives.(5)



    "The ATAC 100-month data confirm that anastrozole is now the gold
standard treatment for post-menopausal women with hormone-sensitive early
breast cancer, irrespective of their recurrence risk, and is set to improve
the outcomes of patients worldwide," commented Professor Anthony Howell,
Christie Hospital, UK.



    
    ATAC 100-month results summary:
 
    - After a median follow-up of over 8 years (100 months),
    compared with tamoxifen, anastrozole significantly:(1),(2)
 
    - reduces the risk of all recurrences by 24% (HR 0.76 (0.67-0.87);
    p=0.0001) 

    - improves disease free survival by 15% (HR 0.85 (0.76-0.94); p=0.003)

    - reduces the risk of distant metastases (recurrence elsewhere in the   
    body) by 16% (HR 0.84 (0.72-0.97); p=0.022) 

    - reduces the incidence of contralateral breast cancer (cancer in the 
    opposite breast) by 40% (OR 0.60 (0.42-0.85); p=0.004)
 
    - Prescribing anastrozole from the start means fewer patients have to be 
    told the devastating news that their breast cancer has recurred.(1),(2) 





Notes to Editors

    For more information, to view a presentation of the ATAC 100 data by
Professor John Forbes or to download the ATAC 100 publication in The Lancet
Oncology, please visit http://www.ATAC100.com



    The study will be published early online (00.01GMT Saturday 15 December)
and in the January edition of The Lancet Oncology.



    
    (x) ATAC: Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination
    (xx) Physicians: medical oncologists, gynaecologists and breast cancer
    surgeons
    Patients: postmenopausal women diagnosed with early breast cancer in
    the past five years and who had undergone breast cancer surgery





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'More Positive Conversations' global survey

    The 'More Positive Conversations' survey was conducted online and via
telephone interviews by Harris Interactive on behalf of AstraZeneca. The
survey involved 1,062 physicians and patients from France, Germany, Italy,
the United Kingdom and the US.



AstraZeneca

    AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the
research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription
pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the
world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47
billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular,
neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is
listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4
Good Index.



    Arimidex (anastrozole) is a trademark, the property of the AstraZeneca
group of companies.



References

    (1). The ATAC Trialist Group -Effect of anastrozole and tamoxifen as
adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer; 100 month analysis of the
ATAC trial -published online, Lancet Oncology Saturday 15 December



    (2). Forbes J, on behalf on the ATAC Trialist's Group. ATAC: 100 month
median follow-up shows continued superior efficacy and no excess fracture
risk for anastrozole compared with tamoxifen after treatment completion.
Abstract no 41. San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2007.



    (3). Parkin, D.M., E. Laara, and C.S. Muir, Estimates of the worldwide
frequency of sixteen major cancers in 1980. Int J Cancer, 1988. 41(2): p.
184-97.



    (4). Breastcancer.org. What role to hormones play in breast cancer
treatment. Available from
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/what_is_it/hormone_role.jsp.
(Last accessed October 2007)



    (5). Cella et al, 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. Breast Cancer Research and
Treatment, 2006. 100(3): p. 273-284.



    (6). Data on file, 'More Positive Conversations' global survey, conducted
by Harris Interactive (US) March-May 2007.