Bisphosphonates Reduce Recurrences When Used as Adjuvant Therapy

SAN ANTONIO - Many post menopausal women take drugs known as bisphosphonates to help maintain bone strength.  New studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium provide strong evidence that these drugs can also help reduce the risk of recurrence in breast cancer when they are used as adjuvant therapy.  The best results were obtained with post menopausal women over the age of 60, but one study also showed a statistically significant reduction in recurrences in premenopausal women with hormone positive receptor breast cancers.  The bisphosphonates are used in addition to other adjuvant treatments.

“Bisphosphonates used as adjuvant therapy are effective in reducing the risk of recurrences in women with breast cancer,” said Virginia Kaklamani, MD, of Northwestern University.  “I think the data is stronger for intravenous over oral drugs, but these are convincing studies.  In my practice, I am going to be more proactive in doing bone density tests earlier and using these drugs for my patients with early breast cancer.”