Observational studyBreast cancer research and treatment2019
Exemestane may be less detrimental than letrozole to bone health in women homozygous for the UGT2B17*2 gene deletion.
Observational study in Breast cancer research and treatment, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacogenetics of Toxicities Related to Endocrine Treatment in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Cancer genomics & proteomicsPooled it
- The Evolution of Precision Anti-Doping From UGT2B17 Polymorphism Insights to Integrated Detection Frameworks.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Review
- No evidence for genotype-treatment interactions with breast cancer endocrine therapy adverse effects in UK Biobank.NPJ breast cancer · 2026Article
- A map of copy number variations in the Tunisian population: a valuable tool for medical genomics in North Africa.NPJ genomic medicine · 2021Article
- Aromatase Inhibitor-Associated Musculoskeletal Syndrome: Understanding Mechanisms and Management.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Review
- Variation in the UGT2B17 genotype, exemestane metabolism and menopause-related toxicities in the CCTG MAP.3 trial.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeUGT2B17 gene deletion (UGT2B17*2) has been reported to affect bone health as well as the pharmacokinetics of aromatase inhibitor (AI) drugs such as exemestane. The goal of this study was to assess associations between UGT2B17 gene deletion and bone health prior to and after 24 months of AI treatment in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer.
methodsBone health in women with HR+ breast cancer enrolled on the prospective randomized Exemestane and Letrozole Pharmacogenetics (ELPh) trial was determined by measuring bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone mineral density (BMD) pre-treatment and after 3 BTM and 24 BMD months of treatment with either the steroidal AI exemestane or the nonsteroidal AI letrozole. DNA samples were genotyped for UGT2B17*2.
resultsOf the 455 subjects included in the analyses, 244 (53.6%) carried at least one copy of UGT2B17*2. UGT2B17*2 was associated with lower pre-treatment BMD at the hip (P = 0.01) and spine (P = 0.0076). Letrozole treatment was associated with a greater decrease in BMD of the hip (P = 0.03) and spine (P = 0.03) than exemestane. UGT2B17 genotype was not associated with changes in BMD from 24 months of AI treatment, though in UGT2B17*2 homozygous patients, there was a trend toward greater decreases in BMD of the spine from treatment with letrozole compared with exemestane (P = 0.05).
conclusionUGT2B17*2 may be associated with lower baseline BMD in women with HR+ breast cancer. Exemestane is less detrimental to bone health than letrozole in postmenopausal women treated with AI, and this effect may be confined to patients carrying UGT2B17*2, though this finding requires independent validation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.