Novartis said a late-stage study showed its drug Afinitor helped extend the time women with advanced breast cancer could live without their tumours worsening.

The Swiss drugmaker said Afinitor had been used in combination with exemestane, which is produced by Pfizer, and that its study of post-menopausal women with advanced breast cancer had been halted early after positive interim results.

"Based on these study results, this combination has the potential to extend the time until chemotherapy is needed for these patients," Herve Hoppenot, president of the Novartis oncology unit, said in a statement.

Results will be presented at an upcoming medical conference and worldwide regulatory submissions are expected by the end of 2011, Novartis also said.

Reuters