Madam, - I wish to commend Dr Muiris Houston for his responsible reporting in connection with the recent breast cancer trial (The Irish Times, December 9th).
He gave a clear picture of the relative percentage benefits of the newer drug, Arimidex, over tamoxifen for post-menopausal women with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer; but what really distinguishes the reporting, in my view, is that he went on to explain what this actually means in "absolute terms": eight out of every 100 women with this type of breast cancer who do not receive hormonal treatment (i.e. tamoxifen or Arimidex) will experience a recurrence within five years; with tamoxifen the number is reduced to four; and with Arimidex it is further reduced to two.
This is important information for breast cancer patients who fall into this category. When trying to weigh up the benefits of hormonal treatment versus the risks it is important for women to remember that 92 out of every 100 who do not receive hormonal treatment will not have a recurrence.
What is urgently needed, in my view, is a research study which seeks to identify the additional indicator/s, over and above oestrogen receptor positive status, which are common to the 8 per cent of women who do unfortunately experience a recurrence.
The information from such a study, which should be independently funded, would mean that the expensive drug Arimidex could be aimed at those who really need it, while the 92 per cent of post-menopausal women with early stage hormone-sensitive breast cancer would be spared the side effects of unnecessary treatment. - Yours, etc.,
URSULA COLEMAN, Monkstown, Co Dublin.