Zometa can help prevent bone loss in premenopausal breast cancer patients says a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Young women that have estrogen receptor positive breast cancer can be treated with hormonal therapy. Some of these treatments can cause the loss of bone density. Treatment with drugs called bisphosphonates may be able to prevent this bone loss.

Zometa, a bisphosphonate, was studied to evaluate two different approaches to hormonal therapy. The patients received either Zoladex plus Tamoxifen or Zoladex plus the aromatase inhibitor, Arimidex. Half the women were treated with Zometa.

Women who did not receive the Zometa during hormonal therapy experienced significant loss of bone mineral density. Bone loss was worse for women treated with Zoladex and Arimidex than for women treated with Zoladex plus Tamoxifen. The women who did receive Zometa along with hormonal therapy had stable bone mineral density.

Bisphosphonates, the researcher concluded, should be considered for patients at risk of bone loss due to hormonal therapy.

Previous posts on the topic of bisphosphonates and Zometa:

Halting the spread of breast cancer to the bone

Prostate cancer and bone loss

Novartis cancer drug may cause jaw damage

Breast Cancer: Pain control improved for bone metastasis

One in five postmenopausal women with estrogen-positive breast cancer do not take the newer chemoprevention hormone therapy aromatase inhibitor drugs to prevent recurrence as prescribed, according Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals researchers who conducted a study to determine drug usage.

Aromatase inhibitors, such as Anastrozole, have been shown to be an effective means of blocking estrogen that fuels cancer for women diagnosed with estrogen-positive breast cancer, and Dana Farber's Dr. Ann Partridge warns that, "Women may be compromising their care, and ultimately their survival, if they do not take these medications as recommended."

Despite warnings, a significant number of women are choosing to discontinue use and the researchers of this survey can only speculate as to the reasons why. Some of the reasons they believe play a role in the women's decision not to comply with recommended treatment are: fear of side effects, actual experience of side effects, cost of treatment, and negative health beliefs that treatment will not help.

From a personal insight, the most common reason I know of as to why women are not taking this medication, or discontinue usage, is the fact that these drugs do not have a long history of use, and one can only guess what the possible, and presently unknown, long-term side effects will end up being. While Dr. Partridge states without a shadow of a doubt that these new aromatase inhibitor drugs are effective in breast cancer recurrence, only time itself will remedy the hesitation and non-compliance.

Some of the aromatase inhibitors include Anastrozole (Arimidex), Letrozole (Femara), Exemestane (Aromasin) and Formestane (Lentaron). To learn more about aromatase inhibitors, visit the National Cancer Institute's aromatase inhibitors digest.

Cynthia Yousefi is a wife and mother of three living in Granada Hills, CA. She is 42 years old and works as an analyst for a Federal agency. She and her family enjoy trips to Harrah's Rincon Casino in San Diego -- and while the destination is a favorite, the sights along the way also bring them pleasure. Cynthia enjoys museums and amusement parks and swimming and evening walks. She enjoys a lot these days because she feels she's been given a second chance at life -- now that she is surviving breast cancer.

Postmenopausal women with HER2 positive breast cancer that also have hormone receptor positive disease can benefit significantly when treatment involves adding Herceptin to the drug Arimidex. Combining these two drugs can lengthen the time women with advanced breast cancer live without their disease progressing.

The full findings were released on Monday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Istanbul. Roche Pharmaceuticals had announced back in May that Herceptin plus Arimidex combination had produced good results.

"The results are very positive" said Dr. Bella Kaufman of Israel's Chaim Sheba Medical Center who led the research. "In breast cancer, there are not many trials that show double progression-free survival."

Prescription drugs purchased online from Canadian pharmacies were intercepted before they reached the US, and after preliminary laboratory tests were found to be counterfeit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers who may have obtained prescription drugs from Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy or Mediplan Global Health in Manitoba, Canada not to take the medication as it may not be safe.

The drugs in question are Lipitor, Diovan, Actonel, Nexium, Hyzaar, Ezetrol or Zetia, Crestor, Celebrex, Arimidex, and Propecia. Most of the drugs are prescribed for cholesterol disorders and high blood pressure; Actonel for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women; Nexium for gastroesophageal reflux disease; Celebrex for arthritis-related pain; Propecia for male-pattern baldness and Arimidex is a breast cancer chemoprevention medication.

Interestingly, the FDA conducted an investigation last year and discovered that nearly half of the imported drugs they confiscated from four selected countries were shipped to fill orders that consumers believed they were placing with Canadian pharmacies. The drugs did not come from Canada. According to the FDA, 85 percent actually came from 27 other countries around the globe. Buyer beware.

The International Aromatase Inhibitor Expert Panel, a panel of 24 breast cancer specialists from Europe, the USA, Australia, China and Brazil, has reconfirmed that aromatase inhibitors (AIs) such as Arimidex, are superior to Tamoxifen in the chemoprevention drug treatment of postmenopausal women with newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive, early breast cancer.

"Over the last three years, there has been an influx of new information about the use of aromatase inhibitors in early breast cancer, and while this is great news, it has created a great deal of confusion. This guidance helps to clarify considerations for use of AIs in everyday practice. These data provide the evidence that support using an aromatase inhibitor at the earliest opportunity," commented panel member Dr. Aman Buzdar, professor of medicine for the department of breast medical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

While aromatase inhibitors are better tolerated and cause less potentially life-threatening side effects than Tamoxifen, Als do increase bone fracture risk -- which is said to be a problem that can be watched for and effectively treated. However, the long-term use of aromatase inhibitors and the effects on heart disease are yet to be determined.