Combining two breast cancer drugs that have traditionally been given as single treatments may prolong the life of patients, a new report from researchers at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago says.
Lead researcher Dr. Kathy Albain and her team followed 707 post-menopausal women who were diagnosed with hormone-receptor positive metastatic breast cancer. They administered some women with doses of either anastrozole or fulvestrant and gave others both drug.
They found women who received just one of the treatments survived for a total of 41.3 months while those receiving both lived for 47.7 months.
"This study is the first to show that combination hormonal therapy alone without chemotherapy improves survival in advanced breast cancer. This most likely will change the standard of care for how we treat these patients," Albain said.
The data appears in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.