Think Pinker

Most women are familiar with the bone loss drugs used to fight osteoporosis. You might even be taking them. Imagine the surprise when researchers discovered that these same drugs might reduce the risks of breast cancer recurring or spreading by as much as 33%.

According to the NY Times This was a large study so that means the results will be much more relevant. It consisted of more than 1800 premenopausal women with estrogen fueled tumors.

It does seem a little strange treating breast cancer with a bone density drug doesn’t it? What it does say is that not all drugs are just good for what they have been currently approved for.

We actually see this much more often than we used to. Drugs often cross over and can beneficial in different areas. This same family of drugs is currently being tested in prostate and lung cancer patients They received the drugs that shut down the production of estrogen, and half received Zometa (zoledronic acid) the bone drug. This was given by IV twice a year for 3 years. The results were impressive and it was obvious that those that took Zometa benefitted.

Researchers weren’t convinced just because of one study so they decided to run two more large studies but the difference was all the women are receiving the drug both premenopausal and postmenopausal. The study should be finishing up shortly and in a couple of years we’ll see what these results showed.

The Mayo Clinic which has a world wide reputation for its success rates in curing cancer, feels that this is a landmark study and they are really enthusiastic about where this could lead. That said, they are not ready to make this part of their treatment regime at this point.

But others are like the University of Miami would be interested in adding it to treatment regimes. Besides Dr. Lippman made a valid point. Many women will already be taking these drugs.

Right now we can only wait and see but it does have some promising results so far.