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Bisphosphonates prevent tumor progression as well as metastatic bone destruction Breast cancer represents the 4th most common cause of cancer related death in the US having claimed the lives of well over 1 million women between 1970 and 1994. High levels of mortality result from a combination of high incidence and the lack of options open to those patients who fail first line therapy and develop metastases. Once metastasis occurs, prognosis and quality of life both diminish with rapidity. The formation of bony metastases contributes to the latter through the production of skeletal pain and increased risk of fracture. A number of bisphosphonates have been developed to tackle this problem. This class of drugs inhibits osteoclast, however more recently British researchers have demonstrated that bisphosphonates have direct antitumor effects. In vitro, bisphosphonates inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in cultured human breast cancer cells. In addition, bisphosphonate treatment interferes with breast cancer cell adhesion to bone matrix, and inhibits cell migration and invasion. The combination of bisphosphonates with other anticancer drugs such as the taxoids markedly enhances these effects. These newly recognized direct actions of bisphosphonates on breast cancer cells indicate that these agents may have a greater role to play in treatment of patients suffering from cancers with a propensity to metastasize to bone. Link to journal abstract:
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