US Pharm. 2010;35(1)(Oncology suppl):13.
Prospective results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) show that women taking oral bisphosphonates for osteoporosis were less likely to develop invasive breast cancer. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone mass. Of the 151,592 postmenopausal women enrolled in the program, 2,216 were taking either alendronate (90%) or etidronate (10%) at their entry into the WHI. A mean 32% fewer breast cancers were found among women using bisphosphonates compared to those who did not.
Rowan Chlebowski, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said “There are ongoing randomized trials in an adjuvant setting looking at contralateral breast cancer and may, in a year or so, be able to provide confirmation for this observational cohort finding.”
