A medical trial looked at how two different drugs work for a specific type of breast cancer. The study included 210 patients from hospitals across mainland China. These patients had cancer that had spread and had already received one round of chemotherapy.
After the first treatment, doctors gave patients either fulvestrant or capecitabine. The main goal was to see how long it took for the cancer to start growing again. Patients taking fulvestrant stayed in remission for about 17 months. Those taking capecitabine had a shorter time before the cancer grew, around 9 months.
The drug called fulvestrant also caused fewer severe side effects. Only about 3% of patients had serious problems while taking it. In contrast, over 10% of patients on capecitabine had serious issues. No one had to stop taking fulvestrant because of bad reactions.
Although the study did not yet have full data on how long patients lived overall, the results are very promising. Fulvestrant offers a safer and more effective option for keeping cancer under control after the first treatment.