here we go again: How inexact ER status testing is!!!

[Gerri]

Lani,

Thank you once again for posting. I am still in the learning curve of reading abstracts/articles and just want to clarify the statement below taken from the conclusion of the article you posted.


"Tamoxifen is likely to remain an important chemopreventive agent, particularly in the premenopausal setting. Thus, this hypothesis may help us to consider other combinations of agents for prevention, such as combinations of tamoxifen with small molecule inhibitors that target the EGFR family or novel receptor tyrosine kinases. More importantly, it should encourage the design of prevention interventions in a setting where we can follow biomarkers and prospectively test the hypothesis presented in this paper."

To me this is verification that Tamoxifen is still a viable agent for those of us who are premenopausal HER2+ and ER+. Does this apply to those of us already diagnosed with bc or only as a preventative in the high risk population of possibly developing bc?


I am currently on Tamoxifen and was confused about whether it is appropriate for HER2+ bc. I am still premenopausal (age 53) and have been wondering whether I should push for suppresion of my ovaries so I can switch to an AI. My onc doesn't feel there is enough data to support this yet but has left the decision up to me. If my interpretation of the article is incorrect can you guide me to research that supports switching to an AI?


I really appreciate the time you take to help out those of us who are not as skilled in interpreting the results of the research out there. I am very interested in learning how to search for articles and how to to effectively interpret them. Any suggestions of how to hone those skills?


Thanks again,