Study Supports Alternative Drug Treatment Against Breast Cancer

Researchers said Sunday that they had shown a cheaper new drug might rival the breast cancer medication tamoxifen, giving women more options in their treatment.

Fareston, marketed by Kentucky-based Shire Roberts under the generic name toremifene, is in the same class as tamoxifen.

A trial of 899 patients showed that the two drugs worked about equally in women past menopause who had undergone surgery for the same stage of breast cancer. The patients were followed for a little more than three years on average.

“The results of this study are of significant importance because they show that Fareston is as effective as tamoxifen in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer,” said Kaija Holli, an oncologist at Tampere University Hospital in Finland, who led the study.

The two trial groups had the same rate of side effects and about the same length of time to breast cancer recurrence. But an initial analysis, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, suggested that the breast cancer recurrence and death rates were slightly lower among the women who got Fareston.

Tamoxifen, sold by AstraZeneca under the name Nolvadex, and Fareston are known as selective estrogen receptor modulators.

“This is very exciting news about Fareston because it suggests that this product may provide patients with an alternative treatment option with a good safety profile and potential cost benefits,” said Dr. Michael Edwards of the University of Louisville.