Compare · Aromatase inhibitor
Anastrozole vs Exemestane
Both are aromatase inhibitor compounds. Here's how they line up on the evidence — graded the same way.
| Anastrozole | Exemestane | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Strong human | Strong human |
| Class | Aromatase inhibitor | Aromatase inhibitor |
| Summary | Anastrozole is a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor — a prescription breast-cancer drug, not a peptide — with strong trial evidence in postmenopausal women and a separate, unstudied off-label use by men to suppress estrogen. It is banned in sport at all times. | Exemestane is an oral, steroidal third-generation aromatase inhibitor — an FDA-approved breast-cancer drug, not a peptide. Bodybuilders use it off-label to suppress estrogen, an unapproved and unstudied practice that is banned in sport (WADA S4) and can be genuinely harmful when estrogen is crashed. |
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Anastrozole
Anastrozole, sold as Arimidex, is a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor: a prescription breast-cancer drug that lowers the body's estrogen by blocking the enzyme that makes it. It is important to be precise about what anastrozole is and is not. It is not an anabolic-androgenic steroid, not a SERM…
Exemestane
Exemestane, sold as Aromasin, is an oral, steroidal third-generation aromatase inhibitor (AI) — a legitimate, well-studied oncology drug. It is important to be precise about what it is: exemestane is not a peptide, not a SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator like tamoxifen), and not an…