CHMP recommends Faslodex (fulvestrant) for the first line treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+), locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer. -AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion, recommending the marketing authorisation of Faslodex (fulvestrant) for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+), locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women not previously treated with endocrine therapy, or with disease relapse on or after adjuvant anti-oestrogen therapy, or disease progression on anti-oestrogen therapy.

The CHMP recommendation is based on pivotal data from the Phase III FALCON trial, where Faslodex 500mg demonstrated superiority over anastrozole 1mg in the treatment of locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer in post-menopausal women who had not received prior hormonal-based medicine for HR+ breast cancer. The FALCON data show that the delay in disease worsening or death (median progression-free survival, PFS) was 2.8 months longer with Faslodex than anastrozole. The median PFS was 16.6 months in the Faslodex arm compared with 13.8 months in the anastrozole arm. Aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole are the current standard of care for the 1st-line treatment for postmenopausal women with HR+ advanced breast cancer.