A report has been released by Breast Cancer Action (BCA), a grassroots education and advocacy organization, on the side effects of aromatase inhibitors (AIs). The report is called "Side Effects Revealed: Women's Experiences with Aromatase Inhibitors". The study analyzed 612 women's responses to an online survey of AIs and their side effects. You can find the report online at http://www.bcaction.org/AIreport.
The results showed that 92 percent reported at least one side effect. Nearly 30 percent reporting stopping the use of AIs--84 percent of those that stopped taking the drug reported that it was because of the intolerable side effects. Almost fifty percent of those that stopped taking the drug because of side effects complained of joint-related problems. Other side effects included stroke, cough, swelling of extremities, flu-like symptoms, and anxiety. Many women said they had joint related issues, vaginal atrophy and dryness and general pain.
Many of the women said they did not receive information about short or long term side effects from their physicians. Executive Director of BCA, Barbara Brenner, said "Patients know about the side effects before their doctors do--they experience them firsthand. Now that hundreds of women taking aromatase inhibitors have spoken, it's time for the medical research community to respond with additional research on the side effects of these drugs."
A previous post related to this topic:
1. ** CORRECTION TO THIS REPORT FROM BREAST CANCER ACTION **
Breast Cancer Action recently learned that there was a technical error in the way data from the online survey came to us from our vendor.
Unfortunately, some of the information in the report is incorrect. The error involves the number of women who experienced each side effect and to what severity.
The nature of the correction is as follows:
- We had first reported that side effects reported by more than half of the respondents to our online survey included stroke, cough, swelling of the arms and legs, flu-like symptoms, and anxiety.
The corrected information is as follows:
- The side effects reported by more than half of the survey respondents were: hot flashes, bone pain, feeling tired, muscle pain, and insomnia.
The fully updated report is available online at http://www.bcaction.org/AIreport.
We take this error very seriously, as we are absolutely committed to seeing that women with breast cancer have accurate information. We have made the necessary corrections and are currently working to update our report to reflect these changes.
The content of the aromatase inhibitor report remains vitally important because it tells the story of women’s experiences with the side effects of these increasingly commonly used drugs.
Posted at 5:23PM on Feb 6th 2007 by rebecca