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About Exemestane

Exemestane (Aromasin) was approved in the United States late in 1999 for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women whose tumors have stopped responding to tamoxifen. Exemestane is approved by the FDA and Health Canada and is marketed by Pfizer, Inc. as Aromasin. It is also approved for use in Europe, Japan, and South America. It is currently used for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women whose disease has progressed following tamoxifen therapy.

Results of the Intergroup Exemestane Study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that 32 percent fewer women had a recurrence in their breast cancer when they switched to exemestane after two to three years of tamoxifen compared to those who continued on tamoxifen for a total of five years, the current standard of care. Additionally, twice as many women receiving tamoxifen developed second (or new) breast cancers than those treated with exemestane.

Unlike other aromatase inhibitors, exemestane is a steroidal aromatase inactivator, which means it selectively targets and irreversibly binds to the aromatase enzyme, which is required to produce estrogen. Without estrogen, breast can
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