Novartis Bone Drug Cuts Risk Of Breast Cancer Return In Study
A study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 6 percent of women who received two injections a year of Zometa for three years suffered a relapse after four years, compared with 9 percent who didnt get the drug. That was an overall reduction of 36 percent in the risk that cancer would return. The treatment didnt significantly lower the risk of death, the study found.
The difference in the number of recurrences between the two groups of women was modest, said Robert Carlson, a cancer specialist at Stanford University School of Medicine. He noted that previous studies of other drugs in the same class as Zometa, called bisphosphonates, have yielded mixed results.
“Based on this study alone, the standard of care should not change and the standard of care does not use any bisphosphonate” in combination with other drugs for breast cancer, Carlson said yesterday in a telephone interview. He said the findings should be confirmed by other research or demonstrated in longer-term studies before doctors routinely use the drug in breast cancer patients.
Bisphosphonates such as Zometa help maintain bone strength. The drug may also stimulate cancer-fighting immune cells and choke the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors, causing them to self-destruct, according to the study.
Strengthening Bones
The study was funded by Novartis and AstraZeneca Plc. Novartis, Switzerlands second-largest drugmaker, sells Zometa to treat pain and strengthen bones in cancer patients and to prevent osteoporosis. The drug had 2008 sales of $1.4 billion.
Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women and was diagnosed in more than 184,000 U.S. patients in 2008, according to estimates from the National Cancer Institute. The study was first presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting last year.
The research involved women before menopause who had early- stage breast cancer. All patients were given treatment to suppress their ovary function, and received the generic drug tamoxifen or AstraZeneca Plcs Arimidex, with or without Zometa. They were treated for three years and observed for one more year.
Zometa is sold as Aclasta and Reclast in the U.S. and in Europe to treat osteoporosis.