USPSTF: Aromatase Inhibitors Recommended to Help Prevent Breast Cancer

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has added aromatase inhibitors to its list of medications recommended to reduce breast cancer risk in women at increased risk. This is a change from the group's 2013 recommendation on using drugs to lower breast cancer risk.

In the USPSTF's final recommendation statement in JAMA, other recommendations are largely unchanged. Women aged 35 years and older who are at increased risk for breast cancer can be offered medications, also including tamoxifen and raloxifene, if they are at low risk for side effects (grade B recommendation). Clinicians can use widely available risk assessment tools or combinations of risk factors (e.g., age 65 years or older with a first-degree relative with breast cancer) to determine a patient's eligibility.

The task force continues to recommend against routinely using such medications in women who aren't at increased risk (grade D).

Dr. Andrew Kaunitz will share his thoughts on these recommendations in NEJM Journal Watch Women’s Health in the coming days. Stay tuned.