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The drug Zometa (generic name, zoledronic acid) is used to treat bone loss in cancer patients, but a new study finds
that it may also help prevent the recurrence of breast
cancer. In a study released at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers
announced that early-stage breast cancer patients who received Zometa, along with hormone
therapy, reduced their risk of a breast cancer recurrence by 35% compared to women who were
treated with hormone therapy and not Zometa. The researchers caution that further study is
needed to confirm the findings and determine which patients are most likely to benefit from Zometa.
Zometa belongs to a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to treat complications from bone metastases-cancer that has spread from another
site (such as the breast, lung, or liver) to the bone. When breast cancer spreads past the breast
and axillary (armpit) lymph nodes, for example, it often spreads first to the bone. As advanced
breast cancer dissolves portions of bone, a variety of problems can occur. Bone metastases
can cause pain, decreased physical activity, and potentially severe problems such as fractures.
To determine whether Zometa could reduce the risk of a recurrence of breast cancer, Michael
Gnant, MD, Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna and President of the
Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group, and colleagues studied 1800 pre-menopausal
women with early-stage breast cancer. The women were treated with treated with
surgery, ovarian suppression (drugs that stop the production of hormones by the
ovaries), and hormone therapy. Hormone therapy is commonly used to treat a type
of breast cancer that is hormone-receptor positive. This type of cancer depends
on estrogen for survival. Examples of hormone therapies includes the drugs
tamoxifen and
Arimidex (generic name, anastrozole).
In the study, the researchers compared women who received hormone therapy with Zometa and
those who received hormone therapy without Zometa. Those who received Zometa did so as a
six-month injection and did not experience any unusual side effects, according to the researchers.
The results showed that after about five years, women treated with hormone therapy (either tamoxifen
or Arimidex) and Zometa reduced their risk of a breast cancer recurrence by 35% compared
with women who received hormone therapy alone. Among women who received Zometa, 6% died
or experienced a recurrence of breast cancer compared to 9% of women who did not receive Zometa.
It's very exciting to find that in addition to preventing bone loss in women receiving hormone therapy for
breast cancer, [Zometa] can also reduce the likelihood that breast cancer will return in some
women," said Dr. Gnant, in a statement on the American Society of Clinical Oncology website.
The researchers are uncertain how Zometa works to prevent breast cancer in some women. They suspect
that the drug may help strengthen the immune system but did not investigate this during the
study. According to Dr. Gnant, "future research will focus on developing the appropriate
treatment schedule and determining which women will benefit the most from this treatment."
It is important to note that Armidex is currently FDA-approved only for post-menopausal women. However,
pre-menopausal women were allowed to take the drug during the study because they were underoing ovarian suppression.
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