Breast cancer drug boosts survival rates

A NEW drug has been shown to boost the survival rate of women who have been treated for breast cancer.

Researchers based at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, who were part of an international study, discovered that an oestrogen suppresser acts as a second line of defence against a recurrence of the disease in post-menopausal women.

They found that women taking Femara, known generically as letrozole, after tamoxifen reduced the risk of the cancer recurring by 43%. And, in cases where the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes at diagnosis, the drug reduced the risk of death by 39%.