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Adding ovarian function suppression to standard treatment for premenopausal breast cancer patients can reduce recurrence and mortality rates by about 25 percent, according to a new study.
Ovarian function suppression is a treatment method that blocks the production of female hormones by the ovaries through surgery, radiation, or medication.
Konkuk University Medical Center said Wednesday that the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG), in which Professor Noh Woo-chul of the hospital’s Breast Cancer Center participated, confirmed the findings through an analysis of 23 clinical studies involving more than 15,000 premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
The analysis showed that adding ovarian function suppression to chemotherapy and tamoxifen, a hormone-blocking drug, significantly lowered breast cancer recurrence rates. The benefit was particularly pronounced in younger patients aged 45 years or younger.
In this age group, rates of distant recurrence and breast cancer-related mortality were each reduced by about 25 percent. Overall mortality also declined by a similar margin.
Professor Noh participated in the study as a researcher who provided key evidence for the meta-analysis through his own independent clinical research. Through the ASTRRA study, he became the first researcher in Asia to demonstrate that two years of ovarian function suppression after chemotherapy could reduce recurrence in premenopausal breast cancer patients aged 45 years or younger.
Professor Noh Woo-chul (Courtesy of Konkuk University Medical Center)
The ASTRRA study was presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and drew international attention. It later served as a key piece of evidence in the recent Lancet meta-analysis.
The findings first demonstrated in Asia were thus reconfirmed globally through the large-scale meta-analysis involving 15,000 patients from 23 countries.
Professor Noh has published numerous papers in SCI-indexed journals both in Korea and abroad in the fields of breast cancer surgery and endocrine therapy. The ASTRRA study is currently being expanded through follow-up research by investigators from the Korean Breast Cancer Society, while collaborative studies with overseas research teams and companies are also underway.
“This meta-analysis provides the broadest and most reliable evidence to date regarding the long-term effects of ovarian function suppression,” Professor Noh said. “As the treatment benefits were clearly confirmed in younger breast cancer patients aged 45 years or younger, the findings are expected to serve as a practical guideline in determining real-world treatment strategies.”
Kim Kyoung-Won
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