Zometa (chemical name: zoledronic acid) is a medicine used to strengthen bones in women diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer that has spread to the bone. Zometa can reduce bone pain and the risk of fractures. Besides benefits for bones, evidence is growing that Zometa also may slow breast cancer growth.
The study reviewed here found that adding Zometa to chemotherapy given before surgery for stage 2 or stage 3 breast cancer was more beneficial than chemotherapy alone. Treatments given before surgery are called neoadjuvant treatments. These results were presented at the 2008 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Half of 205 women diagnosed with stage 2 or stage 3 breast cancer were given standard chemotherapy along with Zometa before surgery. The other half of the women were given only standard chemotherapy before surgery.
The results:
While these results are promising, they are EARLY results. More research is need to figure out if Zometa can be used safely for more than strengthening bones in breast cancer treatment.
Zometa belongs to a group of medicines called bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates help prevent bone loss and can build bone strength in healthy women as well as women being treated for breast cancer. Other bisphosphonates are:
Some bisphosphonates, such as Fosamax and Actonel, are pills taken by mouth. Zometa, Aredia, and Bonefos are given intravenously.
If chemotherapy before surgery is part of your treatment plan, you might want to ask your doctor about the results of this study and whether adding Zometa to your treatment plan makes sense for you.
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 15 (MedPage Today) -- Breast tumor shrinkage increased by a third when zoledronic acid (Zometa) was added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a study reported here.
And the rate of pathologic complete response doubled in patients who received the bisphosphonate drug in addition to chemotherapy, Robert E. Coleman, M.D., of the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England, said at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
"These data suggest that perhaps zoledronic acid is doing something more than just affecting bone," said Dr. Coleman. "But this is not a practice-changing study; it is a hypothesis-generating study."
The results added to evidence suggesting that zoledronic acid has direct antitumor activity, in addition to its bone-preserving activity. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting earlier this year, Austrian investigators reported improved survival in breast cancer patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy plus zoledronic acid versus endocrine therapy alone.
Dr. Coleman presented findings from a retrospective, exploratory analysis of a 205-patient subgroup of a large, ongoing international clinical trial. The analysis involved pre- and postmenopausal women with stage II/III breast cancer.
The patients were randomized to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without zoledronic acid.
Following surgery, the patients received standard adjuvant chemotherapy.
Patients initially randomized to zoledronic acid also received bisphosphonate in the adjuvant setting, 4 mg every three months for six doses, followed by five additional doses given six months apart.
The primary outcome was pathologic residual invasive tumor size. Pathologic complete response was a secondary outcome.
Patients in the zoledronic acid group had a median residual tumor size 20.5 mm compared with 30 mm in the group that received chemotherapy alone.
In a multivariate analysis, the median minimal residual tumor size was 28.7 mm in patients who received zoledronic acid and 42.4 mm in those who did not (P=0.002).
Pathologic complete response was documented in 11% of patients treated with zoledronic acid versus 6% of patients given chemotherapy alone (P=0.033).
Treatment with the bisphosphonate also was associated with a lower mastectomy rate (65.3% versus 77.9%).
The ongoing international clinical trial is supported by Novartis.
Dr. Coleman disclosed that he has received grant support from Novartis and Amgen and has provided expert testimony for Novartis.
Primary source: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Source reference: Winter MC et al. "The addition of zoledronic acid to neoadjuvant chemotherapy may influence pathological response-exploratory evidence for direct antitumor activity in breast cancer" SABCS 2008; Abstracts. 338s. Abstract 5101.
Breastcancer.org 7 East Lancaster Avenue, 3rd Floor Ardmore, PA 19003
Learn more about our commitment to your privacy
© 2009 Breastcancer.org - All rights reserved.
Breastcancer.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing information and community to those touched by this disease. Learn more about our commitment to providing complete, accurate, and private breast cancer information.
_tcm8-332386.jpg "wellness_dvd_promo")