Exemestane Compared With Tamoxifen in Treating Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer

Summary

RATIONALE: Estrogen can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy using exemestane may fight breast cancer by reducing the production of estrogen. It is not yet known if exemestane is more effective than tamoxifen in preventing the recurrence of breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of exemestane with that of tamoxifen in treating postmenopausal women who have undergone surgery to remove early-stage breast cancer.

Timeline

Start

2001-12

Primary completion

—

Completion

2009-04

Publications

• Background Hadji P, Asmar L, van Nes JG, Menschik T, Hasenburg A, Kuck J, Nortier JW, van de Velde CJ, Jones SE, Ziller M. The effect of exemestane and tamoxifen on bone health within the Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) trial: a meta-analysis of the US, German, Netherlands, and Belgium sub-studies. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2011 Jun;137(6):1015-25. doi: 10.1007/s00432-010-0964-y. Epub 2010 Dec 18.
• Results van de Velde CJ, Rea D, Seynaeve C, Putter H, Hasenburg A, Vannetzel JM, Paridaens R, Markopoulos C, Hozumi Y, Hille ET, Kieback DG, Asmar L, Smeets J, Nortier JW, Hadji P, Bartlett JM, Jones SE. Adjuvant tamoxifen and exemestane in early breast cancer (TEAM): a randomised phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2011 Jan 22;377(9762):321-31. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62312-4.
• Results Kieback DG, Harbeck N, Bauer W, Hadji P, Weyer G, Menschik T, Hasenburg A. Endometrial effects of exemestane compared to tamoxifen within the Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multicenter (TEAM) trial: results of a prospective gynecological ultrasound substudy. Gynecol Oncol. 2010 Dec;119(3):500-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2010.08.006. Epub 2010 Sep 15.
• Results Hadji P, Ziller M, Kieback DG, Dornoff W, Tessen HW, Menschik T, Kuck J, Melchert F, Hasenburg A. Effects of exemestane and tamoxifen on bone health within the Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multicentre (TEAM) trial: results of a German, 12-month, prospective, randomised substudy. Ann Oncol. 2009 Jul;20(7):1203-9. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdn762. Epub 2009 Feb 13.
• Results Hadji P, Ziller M, Kieback DG, Menschik T, Kalder M, Kuck J, Hasenburg A. The effect of exemestane or tamoxifen on markers of bone turnover: results of a German sub-study of the Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multicentre (TEAM) trial. Breast. 2009 Jun;18(3):159-64. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2009.03.003. Epub 2009 Apr 11.
• Pilgram L, Yang K, Beltran-Bless AA, Pond GR, Vandermeer L, Hilton J, Savard MF, LeBlanc A, Shepherd L, Chen B, Bartlett JM, Taylor KJ, Bayani J, Barker S, Spears M, van der Velde CJ, Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg E, Dirix L, Mallon E, Hasenburg A, Markopoulos C, Juwara L, Dankar FK, Clemons M, El Emam K. Transfer Learning and Machine Learning for Training Five-Year Survival Prognostic Models in Early Breast Cancer: Development and Validation Study. J Med Internet Res. 2026 Apr 14;28:e88665. doi: 10.2196/88665.
• Leblanc A, Beltran-Bless AA, Pond GR, El Emam K, Juwara L, Clemons L, Bayani J, Pilgram L, Pharoah P, Mallon E, Taylor KJ, Markopoulos C, Dirix L, Vandermeer L, Hilton J, Savard MF, Bartlett JMS, Clemons M. Prognostic and predictive performance of PREDICT 2.1, PREDICT v3, and RSClin in node-negative early breast cancer: a TEAM pathology substudy. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2026 Feb 5;215(3):74. doi: 10.1007/s10549-026-07909-5.
• Beltran-Bless AA, Pond GR, Bayani J, Barker SL, Spears M, Mallon E, Taylor KJ, Hasenburg A, Markopoulos C, Dirix L, Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg E, van de Velde CJH, Rea DW, Vandermeer L, Hilton J, Bartlett JMS, Clemons M. Does RSClin provide additional information over classic clinico-pathologic scores (PREDICT 2.1, INFLUENCE 2.0, CTS5)? Breast. 2025 Oct;83:104528. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2025.104528. Epub 2025 Jul 4.
• Bayani J, Kornaga EN, Crozier C, Jang GH, Bathurst L, Kalatskaya I, Trinh QM, Yao CQ, Livingstone J, Boutros PC, Spears M, McPherson JD, Stein LD, Rea D, Bartlett JMS. Identification of Distinct Prognostic Groups: Implications for Patient Selection to Targeted Therapies Among Anti-Endocrine Therapy-Resistant Early Breast Cancers. JCO Precis Oncol. 2019 Dec;3:1-13. doi: 10.1200/PO.18.00373.
• Derks MGM, Bastiaannet E, van de Water W, de Glas NA, Seynaeve C, Putter H, Nortier JWR, Rea D, Hasenburg A, Markopoulos C, Dirix LY, Portielje JEA, van de Velde CJH, Liefers GJ. Impact of age on breast cancer mortality and competing causes of death at 10 years follow-up in the adjuvant TEAM trial. Eur J Cancer. 2018 Aug;99:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 Jun 6.
• Derks MGM, Blok EJ, Seynaeve C, Nortier JWR, Kranenbarg EM, Liefers GJ, Putter H, Kroep JR, Rea D, Hasenburg A, Markopoulos C, Paridaens R, Smeets JBE, Dirix LY, van de Velde CJH. Adjuvant tamoxifen and exemestane in women with postmenopausal early breast cancer (TEAM): 10-year follow-up of a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2017 Sep;18(9):1211-1220. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30419-9. Epub 2017 Jul 18.
• Bartlett JM, Brookes CL, Piper T, van de Velde CJ, Stocken D, Lyttle N, Hasenburg A, Quintayo MA, Kieback DG, Putter H, Markopoulos C, Kranenbarg EM, Mallon EA, Dirix LY, Seynaeve C, Rea DW. Do type 1 receptor tyrosine kinases inform treatment choice? A prospectively planned analysis of the TEAM trial. Br J Cancer. 2013 Oct 29;109(9):2453-61. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.609. Epub 2013 Oct 3.

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