A new study from researchers out of Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University shows that over a third of post-menopausal women being treated for estrogen-sensitive breast cancers discontinue their treatment because the side effects wind up being far worse than what they had been told to expect by their physicians.
The treatment they're discontinuing are drugs known as aromatase inhibitors, which halt production of estrogen in postmenopausal women (this in turn prevents stimulation of cancer cells by the estrogen).
Joint pain was cited as the side effect most likely to cause them to quit. Other side effects reported include hot flashes, decreased libido, weight gain, breast sensitivity, mood swings, and irritability.
Women who had just finished chemotherapy or radiotherapy were more likely to quit than those had surgery only or were not on other drugs.
According to researchers, the primary problem appears to be the underestimation by the physicians of the potential side effects.
Source: 2011 CTRC-AACR
