Bone Complications in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer can sometimes spread to other parts of the body. Often the disease attacks the bone and complications can occur. The tumor itself can invade the bone and can cause “holes” in the bone; or the cancer can cause hormonal or chemical changes that would result in bone loss. Bone is a very rich depository of substances that enhance the growth of tumor cells, so it’s a vicious circle during which the tumor cells produce substances that enhance the destruction of normal bone, and this destruction results in the release of substances that produce growth of cancer cells.

For patients with breast cancer that has spread to the bone, the first symptom is pain. Most of the time patients will come in to their doctor with complaints of bone or joint pain. The diagnosis can also be made by blood tests, bone scans, CAT scans, etc.

Breast cancer cells reach the bone through the blood stream. Once there, these cancerous cells can make the disease even more difficult for the patient. They can produce a number of complications: pain and fractures in the area that are weakened by destruction of normal bone components. They can release massive amounts of calcium, which complicate our ability to maintain a balance within our blood stream, and can cause compression of the spinal cord, or, in its most extreme form, death.

Bone complications can seriously impact a patient’s quality of life. There are effective treatments available: pain medications, radiation therapy and surgery have proven successful, and most recently, a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates. In breast cancer, the most effective treatment has been hormone therapy or chemotherapy. Bisphosphonates can disable the normal bone cells responsible for bone destruction by adding these substances to chemotherapy or hormone therapy, thereby reducing the frequency with which bone complications occur by 30-50%. Until very recently, the standard of care in patients with breast cancer was to use pamidronate or Aredia. Now there is a new drug called Zometa, which is given over a shorter period of time, 15 minutes intravenously rather than 2 hours. A large Phase III clinical trial was recently completed comparing the use of Aredia with Zometa in patients with breast cancer and bone complications. It showed that Zometa was just as effective as Aredia.

There is some laboratory data that suggests that bisphosphonates might have an anti-tumor effect in breast cancer, perhaps delaying the growth or spread of the tumor. Several side effects have been noted in a small number of patients. They include low -grade temperature, chills, and a slight increase in bone pain. These effects occur mostly during the first or second administration of the drug.

Bone related complications and bone metastases are highly treatable comditions in patients with breast cancer. Most complications can be treated successfully and in many cases can be avoided or delayed until very late in the course of the disease.

Source material from www.nbcf.healthology.com