A number of options are available for the treatment of early or advanced stage breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Sometimes, you have to resort to multiple options to gain effective results. It is up to you and your physician to chalk out a treatment plan that best suits your specific medical condition. Hormonal therapy is one of the most recommended adjuvant or auxiliary treatments because it prevents or delays the breast cancer cells from procreating and reduces the possibility of breast cancer recurrence. Arimidex (Anastrozole) as an aromatase inhibitor is a major contributor towards the popularity of hormonal therapy.

Let’s discuss in detail how Arimidex or Anastrozole works. The adrenal gland in the human body produces certain hormones such as androgens (male hormones) and estrogens (female hormones) through a complicated sequence of reactions. When women have passed through their menopause phase, their ovaries don’t create estrogen any more. As a result, most of the estrogens in the female body are produced by converting the androgens to estrogens. This particular process is carried out with the help of an enzyme called aromatase. The conversion of androgens to estrogens takes place in different parts of the body like muscle, liver, fat and also in breast tumors. The reason behind the enlargement of some breast tumors is the increasing levels of estrogen in the body. Arimidex (Anastrozole) works by binding to aromatase and thereby, inhibits or blocks the activity of the enzyme and the generation of estrogen. That’s why Arimidex has the got the name aromatase inhibitor.

Arimidex (Anastrozole) is indicated for adjuvant treatment (post-surgery treatment with or without radiation) of hormone receptor-positive early phase breast cancer in postmenopausal women. It is used as a number one treatment of hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (spreading of the disease to another part of the body) in postmenopausal women. Anastrozole is also indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer with disease progression after the tamoxifen therapy in postmenopausal women. However, the drug is seldom responded by patients having ER-negative disease and patients with no reaction to earlier tamoxifen treatment.

While Arimidex is officially intended for use by women, its off-label use has been found effective in lowering estrogens or estradiol in men. High level of estradiol in men can lead to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), gynecomastia and symptoms of hypogonadism. Arimidex (Anastrozole) is also used by some body builders and athletes as a part of their steroid cycle to decrease and avert the symptoms of surplus estrogens.

Children with growth disorder can also be treated using Arimidex (Anastrozole). The growth disorder generally happens through hormones which may set off the premature onset of puberty. Arimidex can stop or retard the arrival of puberty to enhance the opportunity for further growth.