ASCO has issued a guideline update on the use of adjuvant hormone therapy for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. In 2002, ASCO developed a clinical practice guideline about the use of aromatase inhibitors for early-stage breast cancer. This guideline was recently updated further to provide guidance on the use of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and aromatase inhibitors. To read the guideline in full, visit:

http://www.asco.org/guidelines/endocrinebreast

To find out what this means for patients, visit Cancer.Net’s "What to Know" guide:

http://www.cancer.net/patient/Publications+and+Resources/What+to+Know%3A+ASCO%27s+Guidelines/What+to+Know%3A+ASCO%27s+Guideline+on+Hormonal+Therapy+for+Hormone+Receptor-Positive+Breast+Cancer?sectionTitle=Introduction§ionId=105691&vgnextrefresh=1

In the Patient Communication section of the guideline (pages 9-10 of the pdf), we briefly discuss nonpersistence. Rates in women who start taking tamoxifen are as high as 30% at 3 years after filling a first prescription. In this section, we have also referenced several articles that have addressed this issue.