Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives
Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Curie, 26 Rue d'Ulm, Paris 75005, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Clin. Med. 2014, 3(2), 521-536; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm3020521
Received: 2 February 2014 / Revised: 3 March 2014 / Accepted: 14 March 2014 / Published: 9 May 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Treatment of Bone Metastases from Breast Cancer)
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.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
breast cancer; bone metastasis; adjuvant treatment; neoadjuvant treatment; bisphosphonates; zoledronic acid; denosumab; osteonecrosis of the jaw
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Beuzeboc, P.; Scholl, S. Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives. J. Clin. Med. 2014, 3, 521-536. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm3020521
AMA Style
Beuzeboc P, Scholl S. Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2014; 3(2):521-536. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm3020521
Chicago/Turabian StyleBeuzeboc, Philippe; Scholl, Suzy. 2014. "Prevention of Bone Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients. Therapeutic Perspectives" J. Clin. Med. 3, no. 2: 521-536. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm3020521
Find Other Styles
Search more from Scilit