Dr. Brodie's research revolutionized the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer worldwide. She pioneered the development of aromatase inhibitors, which are now considered among the most important contributions toward treating estrogen driven breast cancer, the most common form of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Her work developing aromatase inhibitors was a paradigm-shifting effort that began in the 1970s and was designed to reduce the level of the estrogen in the body and thereby block the growth of cancer cells. Aromatase is an enzyme that plays a key role in the biosynthesis of the hormone estrogen, which fuels the growth of cancer cells.
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