Adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with endocrine-sensitive breast cancer.

Approximately 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States annually. The majority of these women are postmenopausal and have endocrine-sensitive tumors. Over the last four decades, multiple clinical trials have been conducted in efforts to establish and advance adjuvant endocrine therapies. We review the available evidence for adjuvant endocrine therapies and current recommendations for therapy in postmenopausal women. Although we have made substantial progress in the treatment of endocrine-sensitive breast cancer, future study will require incorporation of biological and translational questions with the goal of enhancing treatment benefits and minimizing toxicity. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.