Effective alendronate therapy against a bone metastasis occurring during docetaxel therapy for breast cancer--a case report

• Published in: Gan to kagaku ryoho Vol. 26; no. 10; p. 1469
• Main Authors: Oura, S, Sakurai, T, Yoshimura, G, Tamaki, T, Umemura, T, Kokawa, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan 01.09.1999
• Subjects: Aged; Alendronate - administration & dosage; Alendronate - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - administration & dosage; Bone Neoplasms - drug therapy; Bone Neoplasms - secondary; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Breast Neoplasms - surgery; Female; Humans; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - drug therapy; Paclitaxel - administration & dosage; Paclitaxel - analogs & derivatives; Taxoids
• ISSN: 0385-0684

A 65-year-old woman underwent radical operation for breast cancer in December, 1992. Between September, 1994 and January, 1997, she developed local recurrences four times as well as a supraclavicular lymph node recurrence. Each recurrence was treated with surgery and various types of chemoendocrine therapy, including anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. In April, 1997, she had developed a liver metastasis, which showed a partial response to docetaxel therapy. However, she developed a bone metastasis in January, 1998 (9 months after the initiation of docetaxel therapy). In addition to the docetaxel therapy, she was treated with a potent bisphosphonate, alendronate, 10 mg of which was infused every two weeks. Eight alendronate infusions resulted in a marked improvement in the bone metastasis, and the liver metastasis has been in regression for 13 months in response to the docetaxel therapy. In conclusion, alendronate is a promising agent against bone metastases which occur during docetaxel therapy for breast cancer.