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Breast Evaluation and Treatment

New Advance in Breast Cancer Prevention Builds on Dr. Angela Brodie's Research

Aromatase Inhibitors Given in a Preventive Setting Reduced Development of Breast Cancer in High Risk Women by 65 Percent

June 6, 2011:  A New England Journal of Medicine study released on June 4, 2011 reported a significant advance in breast cancer prevention. The study found that exemestane, an aromatase inhibitor, already approved to treat breast cancer, can reduce the risk of postmenopausal women developing the disease by 65 percent.

Dr. Angela Brodie, an internationally recognized University of Maryland breast cancer researcher, pioneered the development of aromatase inhibitors. Dr. Brodie’s research into aromatase inhibitors has spanned more than 35 years.

“I think it’s very exciting news. Patients and their physicians already are familiar with exemestane (Aromasin) as a treatment option. Now, it offers postmenopausal women who are at increased risk of getting breast cancer a safe and effective approach to prevention,” Dr. Brodie says of the study’s findings.

A professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Brodie has won numerous awards for her work, including the prestigious Kettering Prize for Cancer Research in 2005 and the Landon Prize in 2006. She is continuing her research at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, searching for ways to overcome some patients’ resistance to treatment with aromatase inhibitors.


This page was last updated on: July 11, 2011.