New hope for bone growth Irish Medical Times, Ireland - Only one drug currently on the market can generate new bone, but due to reports that it may increase the risk of bone cancer, its use is restricted for ...
Gypsum mom battles cancer with some help from friends Vail Daily News, CO - After a rod was placed in her brittle bone to keep it from breaking, Myers began a regimen of drugs to keep the cancer from spreading. ...
Bone loss due to more than cancer drugs United Press International - Nov 21, 2008 21 (UPI) -- Certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss in breast cancer survivors, but cancer drugs aren't the only culprits, US researchers said. ...
Bone Loss in Breast Cancer Therapy May Involve More Than Drugs MedPage Today, NJ - Nov 21, 2008 21 -- When assessing bone loss in postmenopausal breast cancer patients, clinicians should look beyond the effects of aromatase inhibitors and other ...
In space, a cluster of health dangers Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Nov 30, 2008 Even going that far can put astronauts at an elevated risk of cataracts, bone loss, and possibly heart problems. A Mars mission would take at least six ...
Source: Google News
Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: cancer + bone + drugs Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)
The clinical course of bone metastases from breast cancer. - RE Coleman, RD Rubens - Br J Cancer, 1987 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ... Ten percent of patients with breast cancer developed hypercalcaemia. ... Mesh Terms:
Adult; Aged; Bone Neoplasms/drug therapy; Bone Neoplasms/secondary ...
[BOOK] Medical applications of hydroxyapatite: bone mineral drug delivery system cancer & HIV IVH & CAPD … H Aoki - 1994 - Ishiyaku EuroAmerica, Tokyo
PDGF receptors as cancer drug targets - K Pietras, T Sj?blom, K Rubin, CH Heldin, A ?stman - Cancer Cell, 2003 - Elsevier ... of drugs upon PDGF receptor inhibition. The selective upregulation of PDGF receptors
on endothelial cells in the mouse model of prostate cancerbone metastases ...
Therapeutic Approaches to Bone Diseases - GA Rodan, TJ Martin - Science, 2000 - sciencemag.org ... years) due to vaginal bleeding, breast tenderness, and anxiety about cancer. ... mechanism
of action of estrogens on bone, as well ... of a new class of drugs known as ...
Bisphosphonates inhibit the adhesion of breast cancer cells to bone matrices in vitro. - G van der Pluijm, H Vloedgraven, E van Beek, L van … - Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1996 - pubmedcentral.nih.gov ... Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1993;25(2):151?163. ... Pharmacology and use in the treatment
of tumour-induced hypercalcaemic and metastatic bone disease. Drugs. ...
A class of bone-strengthening drugs can have significant benefits for cancer patients whose disease has spread to the bone, according to a review published in the British Medical Journal (Vol. 327, No. 7413: 469-472).
The drugs, called bisphosphonates, significantly reduce fractures, abnormally high concentrations of calcium (hypercalcemia), and the need for radiation (often used to relieve pain). The drugs also delayed the onset of these problems, researchers at London's Royal Marsden Hospital found.
"Clearly a reduction in fractures, need for additional hospital treatment, or pain would be expected to improve a patient's quality of life," said lead researcher JR Ross, research fellow and specialist registrar in the department of palliative medicine.
Most of the patients studied had breast cancer that had spread to bones or multiple myeloma, a cancer that begins in bones. Bisphosphonate treatment of patients with these conditions has become standard practice in the United States.
Fewer Complications
Ross and her colleagues analyzed the results of 30 studies of bisphosphonate treatment for bone metastases. The drugs did not help patients live longer, but did help them have fewer complications from advanced cancer.
Overall, patients who received the drugs had a 31% lower risk of having a fracture in a vertebra, and a 35% lower chance of breaking other bones, when compared to patients given a placebo. Their risk of hypercalcemia was 45% lower, and their risk of needing radiation treatment 33% lower.
Those findings suggest patients with other types of cancer that has spread to the bone could also benefit from this therapy, Ross said.
Herman Kattlove, MD, a medical editor with the American Cancer Society, agreed that the drugs might help a broader range of patients whose bones have been weakened by metastases, but noted that "these situations just haven't been well-studied."
Drugs Take Time to Work
Ross' analysis showed that it can take months for these beneficial effects to be seen, although pain relief is usually quicker.
Patients had to take bisphosphonates for at least six months to see any decrease in the need for radiation treatment or in cases of excessive calcium. To have an impact on broken bones, patients had to take the drugs for a year.
Because of that time frame, Ross and colleagues recommend that bisphosphonate treatment begin at the first indication that cancer has spread to the bone, rather than waiting for symptoms like pain to appear.
"To obtain maximum benefit, it's important to continue reloading the bone with the drug," she said.
