HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Researchers Ponder Shorter Course of AI therapy

Hopeful · 08-27-2009, 07:06 AM

Sarah,

The reason to stop taking AI's is that it is believed that resistance develops with the length of exposure. There have been studies performed which show (in the lab) that ER+ cells can adapt to a low ER environment, and begin growing again. I read a few years ago about a European trial of an alternative regimen of AI therapy, with three months on and three months off, to see if intermittent ER suppression worked better than constant suppression. I have not seen anything about the trial since, and have often wondered if it came off. I have posted a few articles in the articles forum about the sucess some have had in resensitizing ER+ bc to AI's by using ER therapy.

Everyone is different, and some tolerate these drugs better than others. The greatest crime, IMO, is that there are no studies done with trying to adjust dosing to the individual - they are rxed as a "one size fits all," with patients weighing 98 pounds getting the same dose as those that weigh 300 pounds. Perhaps if the dosage were adjusted better, the side effects would be less severe and patients would not be craving an end to the treatment.

Hopeful

08-27-2009, 07:06 AM	#10
Hopeful Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,380	Re: Researchers Ponder Shorter Course of AI therapy Sarah, The reason to stop taking AI's is that it is believed that resistance develops with the length of exposure. There have been studies performed which show (in the lab) that ER+ cells can adapt to a low ER environment, and begin growing again. I read a few years ago about a European trial of an alternative regimen of AI therapy, with three months on and three months off, to see if intermittent ER suppression worked better than constant suppression. I have not seen anything about the trial since, and have often wondered if it came off. I have posted a few articles in the articles forum about the sucess some have had in resensitizing ER+ bc to AI's by using ER therapy. Everyone is different, and some tolerate these drugs better than others. The greatest crime, IMO, is that there are no studies done with trying to adjust dosing to the individual - they are rxed as a "one size fits all," with patients weighing 98 pounds getting the same dose as those that weigh 300 pounds. Perhaps if the dosage were adjusted better, the side effects would be less severe and patients would not be craving an end to the treatment. Hopeful