Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 May 9;3(2):521-36.
doi: 10.3390/jcm3020521.

Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives

Philippe Beuzeboc  1 , Suzy Scholl  2
Affiliations
Review

Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives

Philippe Beuzeboc et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

One in four breast cancer patients is at risk of developing bone metastases in her life time. The early prevention of bone metastases is a crucial challenge. It has been suggested that the use of zoledronic acid (ZOL) in the adjuvant setting may reduce the persistence of disseminated tumor cells and thereby might improve outcome, specifically in a population of patients with a low estrogen microenvironment. More recently, the results of a large meta-analysis from 41 randomized trials comparing a bisphosphonate (BP) to placebo or to an open control have been presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Meeting. Data on 17,016 patients confirm that adjuvant BPs, irrespective of the type of treatment or the treatment schedule and formulation (oral or intra-venously (IV)), significantly reduced bone recurrences and improved breast cancer survival in postmenopausal women. No advantage was seen in premenopausal women. BPs are soon likely to become integrated into standard practice. Published data on the mechanisms involved in tumor cell seeding from the primary site, in homing to bone tissues and in the reactivation of dormant tumor cells will be reviewed; these might offer new ideas for innovative combination strategies.

Keywords: adjuvant treatment; bisphosphonates; bone metastasis; breast cancer; denosumab; neoadjuvant treatment; osteonecrosis of the jaw; zoledronic acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: An overview of the randomised trials. Lancet. 2005;365:1687–1717. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66544-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) Davies C., Godwin J., Gray R., Clarke M., Cutter D., Darby S., McGale P., Pan H.C., Taylor C., et al. Relevance of breast cancer hormone receptors and other factors to the efficacy of adjuvant tamoxifen: Patient-level meta-analysis of randomised trials. Lancet. 2011;378:771–784. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60993-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) Peto R., Davies C., Godwin J., Gray R., Pan H.C., Clarke M., Cutter D., Darby S., McGale P., et al. Comparisons between different polychemotherapy regimens for early breast cancer: Meta-analyses of long-term outcome among 100,000 women in 123 randomised trials. Lancet. 2012;379:432–444. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61625-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goldhirsch A., Gelber R.D., Piccart-Gebhart M.J., de Azambuja E., Procter M., Suter T.M., Jackisch C., Cameron D., Weber H.A., Heinzmann D., et al. Two years versus 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer (HERA): An open-label, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2013;382:1021–1028. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61094-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Romond E.H., Jeong J.H., Rastogi P., Swain S.M., Geyer C.E., Jr., Ewer M.S., Rathi V., Fehrenbacher L., Brufsky A., Azar C.A., et al. Seven-year follow-up assessment of cardiac function in NSABP B-31, a randomized trial comparing doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel (ACP) with ACP plus trastuzumab as adjuvant therapy for patients with node-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer. J. Clin. Oncol. 2012;30:3792–3799. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2011.40.0010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources