Safety & Tolerability—

In initial adjuvant therapy...

Latest trial safety results

Latest 100-month ATAC trial safety results analysis

ARIMIDEX is the only aromatase inhibitor with an established 8+ - year safety profile, 5-years on-treatment and 3+- years off-treatment.

11. Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) Trialists’ Group, Forbes JF, Cuzick J, et al. Effect of anastrozole and tamoxifen as adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer: 100-month analysis of the ATAC trial. Lancet Oncol. 2008;9(1):45-53.

* Rates refer to patients with an event, except for fracture episodes where patients could have more than one episode. Patients with an "on treatment" event were not at risk for an "off treatment" event, except for fracture episodes.

† As judged by the investigator.

‡ A fracture episode comprised one or more fractures on the same day based on reports of adverse events and serious adverse events.

Safety profile confirmed through >46,000 woman-years of follow-up¹¹

After patients completed treatment, serious adverse events and fracture rates decreased and became similar for both treatment arms¹¹
Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular profile established through 8+ years¹¹
No excess in fracture rate seen after treatment completion¹¹
Continued diminished risk of endometrial cancer vs. tamoxifen¹¹

See the links below for more information on ATAC 100:

Listen to Dr. Buzdar discuss the 100-month ATAC data

Download The Lancet article for the 100-month ATAC trial analysis

Important Information About ARIMIDEX Tablets

ARIMIDEX is indicated for adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.

ARIMIDEX is indicated for first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

ARIMIDEX is indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. Patients with estrogen receptor-negative disease and patients who did not respond to previous tamoxifen therapy rarely responded to ARIMIDEX.

Important Safety Information About ARIMIDEX

ARIMIDEX is only for postmenopausal women. ARIMIDEX can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Before starting treatment with ARIMIDEX, pregnancy must be excluded (see WARNINGS section of full Prescribing Information).

Common side effects seen with ARIMIDEX vs tamoxifen in the early breast cancer trial after 5 years of treatment include hot flashes (36% vs 41%), joint disorders (including arthritis, arthrosis, arthralgia) (36% vs 29%), asthenia (19% vs 18%), mood disturbances (19% vs 18%), pain (17% vs 16%), pharyngitis (14% vs 14%), nausea and vomiting (13% vs 12%), depression (13% vs 12%), hypertension (13% vs 11%), osteoporosis (11% vs 7%), peripheral edema (10% vs 11%), and headache (10% vs 8%). Fractures, including fractures of the spine, hip, and wrist, occurred more frequently with ARIMIDEX vs tamoxifen (10% vs 7%).

Compared to baseline, ARIMIDEX showed a mean decrease in both lumbar spine and total hip bone mineral density. Tamoxifen showed a mean increase in these measurements. Nine percent of patients receiving ARIMIDEX had an elevated serum cholesterol vs 3.5% of patients receiving tamoxifen.

The common side effects seen with ARIMIDEX in advanced breast cancer trials include hot flashes (26.5%), nausea (18.6%), asthenia (16.4%), pain (13.8%), back pain (11.9%), bone pain (10.7%), and increased cough (10.9%). Joint pain/stiffness has been reported in association with the use of ARIMIDEX.

Clinical and pharmacokinetic results suggest that tamoxifen should not be administered with ARIMIDEX. Estrogen-containing therapies should not be used with ARIMIDEX, as they may diminish its pharmacologic action.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information.

ARIMIDEX is a registered trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.