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Fulvestrant: A Review in Advanced Breast Cancer Not Previously Treated with Endocrine Therapy

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Abstract

Fulvestrant (Faslodex®), a selective estrogen receptor (ER) degrader, is now indicated for the treatment of ER+ or hormone-receptor positive (HR+)/HER2− advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women previously untreated with endocrine therapy. In the phase 3 FALCON trial conducted in this setting, intramuscular fulvestrant 500 mg/month (plus an additional dose at 2 weeks) was significantly more effective in prolonging progression-free survival (PFS) than oral anastrozole 1 mg/day (particularly in patients with non-visceral disease), with this benefit seemingly driven by fulvestrant recipients responding significantly longer to treatment. Other efficacy measures, including objective response rate, did not significantly or markedly differ between the two regimens and median overall survival was not yet calculable. Fulvestrant was generally well tolerated in this trial, displaying an overall tolerability profile consistent with its known tolerability in other breast cancer settings. Thus, monotherapy with intramuscular fulvestrant is a generally well tolerated and more effective treatment option than standard-of-care anastrozole for ER+ or HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women not previously treated with endocrine therapy.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of fulvestrant was also offered the opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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  1. Springer, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, 0754, New Zealand

    Emma D. Deeks

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  1. Emma D. Deeks
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Correspondence to Emma D. Deeks.

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Conflict of interest

Emma Deeks is a salaried employee of Adis/Springer, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found at http://www.medengine.com/Redeem/C7CCF06013B1BD22.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: A. M. Brufsky, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; S. Gonnelli, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

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Deeks, E.D. Fulvestrant: A Review in Advanced Breast Cancer Not Previously Treated with Endocrine Therapy. Drugs 78, 131–137 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-017-0855-5

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