"While obviously it’s fair to say that the overall result of AZURE is a little bit disappointing, scientifically it makes perfect sense," said Dr. Gnant. "Perfect suppression – or a natural lack of estrogen – in combination with adjuvant zoledronic acid leads to significant disease-free and overall survival benefit."
To put the results in practical terms, Dr. Gnant noted that for the past 2 years, he would have put his 42-year-old wife on zoledronic acid if she developed ER-positive breast cancer, but not his 83-year-old mother. "This has changed this afternoon. Now, my 83-year-old mother would also receive zoledronic acid," he said.
The ABCSG-12 trial was sponsored by Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group, with support from AstraZenaca (which makes Arimedex) and Novartis Pharmaceutical (which makes Zometa). Dr. Gnant disclosed that he has significant financial relationships with several pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis.
[Women's Health Initiative: New Findings on Big-Three Cancer Rates]
The AZURE trial was sponsored by the University of Sheffield. Dr. Coleman disclosed that he receives grant support from Novartis and is a speaker for Novartis and Amgen.