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Bone homeostasis and breast cancer: implications for complex therapy and the maintenance of bone integrity.

Pathology oncology research : POR
January 1, 2013
Orsolya Rusz et al. (2 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the role of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in preventing cancer therapy-induced bone loss and maintaining bone integrity in patients with breast cancer.

Results Summary

The study suggests that appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplementation is essential for preventing cancer therapy-induced bone loss. Adjuvant bisphosphonates and RANKL inhibitors were found to inhibit bone remodeling and reduce cancer relapse in postmenopausal patients with low-estrogen environments.

Population

Postmenopausal women with breast cancer and patients undergoing adjuvant oncological therapy (chemotherapy, endocrine manipulations).

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (5)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
bisphosphonates
decrease
skeleton-related events
-
-
interrupt this vicious cycle, inhibit tumor growth, and in clinical practice prevent
#1
denosumab
decrease
skeleton-related events
-
-
interrupt this vicious cycle, inhibit tumor growth, and in clinical practice prevent
#2
Adjuvant oncological therapy, including chemotherapy and endocrine manipulations (ovarian ablation and tamoxifen in premenopausal, and aromatase inhibitors in postmenopausal women)
increase
the bone turnover and the risk of fracture
-
-
increases
#3
appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplementation
decrease
cancer therapy-induced bone loss
-
-
prevention
#4
bisphosphonates in the adjuvant setting
decrease
relapse
postmenopausal patients with a low-estrogen environment in the skeleton
-
prevents the growth of dormant tumor cells and cancer relapse
#5
Abstract

The standard of care in bone metastases is antiresorptive therapy. If present in the bone, tumor cells induce a vicious cycle by stimulating the osteoclasts, which further accelerates tumor progression. The widely-used bisphosphonates or the new therapeutic option, denosumab an inhibitor of the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), interrupt this vicious cycle, inhibit tumor growth, and in clinical practice prevent skeleton-related events. Adjuvant oncological therapy, including chemotherapy and endocrine manipulations (ovarian ablation and tamoxifen in premenopausal, and aromatase inhibitors in postmenopausal women), increases the bone turnover and the risk of fracture. Awareness is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer therapy-induced bone loss, or its prevention with appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplementation. A new possibility has been suggested for the prevention of relapse: the use of bisphosphonates in the adjuvant setting. Three large studies and their meta-analyses indicate that the inhibition of bone remodeling prevents the growth of dormant tumor cells and cancer relapse in the population of postmenopausal patients with a low-estrogen environment in the skeleton. The similar potential of a RANKL inhibitor is currently under evaluation. Since the maintenance of bone integrity is necessary for the prevention of both therapy-related side-effects and progression of the disease, the management of breast cancer at any stage requires a careful consideration of the bone homeostasis.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Bone NeoplasmsBone RemodelingBone and BonesBreast NeoplasmsFemaleHomeostasisHumans
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations3
Citations/Year0.3
Relative Citation Ratio0.12
NIH Percentile5.9%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score1.38
Normalized Score0.67
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