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Clinical Use of Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer: History and Present

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Resistance to Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer

Part of the book series: Resistance to Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapeutics ((RTACT,volume 8))

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Abstract

The mainstay of endocrine therapy in breast cancer has been to deprive breast cancer cells of oestrogen. Traditionally done by surgical means, for post-menopausal women the treatment is now much simpler with the advent of highly specific and effective aromatase inhibitors. This chapter will summarise the history of endocrine deprivation therapy in post-menopausal women with breast cancer, and outline where these drugs are used today, what is known about their efficacy and potential causes of resistance. It will set the scene for the rest of the book and draw lessons from history to interpret contemporary clinical practices and research questions.

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Abbreviations

AIs:

Aromatase inhibitors

ER:

Oestrogen receptor

PgR:

Progesterone receptor

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Conflict of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK

    David Cameron

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  1. David Cameron
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Correspondence to David Cameron .

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  1. Academic Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Clinical Medicine, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Statistics and Computational Biology Laboratory & University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Alexey Larionov

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Cameron, D. (2015). Clinical Use of Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer: History and Present. In: Larionov, A. (eds) Resistance to Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer. Resistance to Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapeutics, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17972-8_1

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