Risedronate averts breast cancer-related bone loss

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bone loss in women who survive breast cancer after undergoing chemotherapy can be prevented by once-weekly treatment with risedronate, according to the results of a new study.

Risedronate, which goes by the brand name Actonel, is one of the so-called bisphosphonate drugs that curb bone loss that occurs after menopause. Dr. Susan L. Greenspan from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and other researchers studied 87 newly postmenopausal women with breast cancer who finished chemotherapy and were assigned to take either a 35-milligram tablet of risedronate or a placebo pill once a week.

Bone mineral density (BMD) in the spine increased by 1.2 percent after 1 year of treatment with risedronate but decreased by 0.9 percent in the placebo group, the team reports in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Results were similar for BMD at the hip. Total body BMD remained stable among risedronate-treated women, the results indicate, but decreased in the placebo group.

Adverse events did not differ significantly between the risedronate and placebo groups, the investigators say.

"These results have important clinical ramifications for breast cancer survivors who go into remission after early, aggressive therapy," Greenspan and colleagues conclude.

As they point out, "Because of the long-term survival of this cohort, they are at risk for bone loss and osteoporosis. Skeletal integrity needs to be assessed and considered as part of their long-term management."

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, January 2007.