femara versus Arimedex

[river1980]

do you have a preference?

[river1980]

I am a GP ( family doctor) in the Uk been advised by my oncologist to start  either one of these drugs. I saw a paper from canada9 funded by novartis  suggesting the femara have shown better survival figures than tamoxifen. Is femara better than arimedex?  have you seen this paper.

[Cleveland Clinic]

Dear river1980, Both Femara (letrozole) and Arimidex (anastrozole) are aromatase inhibitors used in the treatment of hormone receptor positive breast cancer in post menopausal women.  Aromatase inhibitors block the enzyme aromatase (found in the body's muscle, skin, breast and fat), which is used to convert androgens (hormones produced by the adrenal glands) into estrogen. In the absence of estrogen, tumors dependent on this hormone for growth will shrink.  Both of these medications have similar FDA approved indications.