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Bone drug helps certain men with prostate cancer


NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Alendronate, usually given to women for osteoporosis, is also helpful for men undergoing hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer, a study shows.
Men experience significant bone loss when they are given androgen-deprivation therapy or ADT to eliminate the testosterone that is driving their prostate cancer, the researchers explain in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Susan L. Greenspan from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and colleagues examined the effect of alendronate, perhaps better known by the brand name Fosamax, on changes in bone density in 112 men on ADT for prostate cancer. The men were put on continuous weekly alendronate treatment, or intermittent treatment, or no treatment
After 2 years, continuous alendronate treatment produced the greatest increases in bone density, the team found report.
Men who had been receiving ADT for more than 36 months before beginning alendronate treatment had significantly less gain in bone density than did men who had been on ADT a shorter time.
"Improvements in bone mineral density in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation are greatest in men who continue to receive alendronate therapy," Greenspan's group concludes. "Furthermore, delay in treatment is detrimental to skeletal integrity."
They advise that "once-weekly oral therapy with alendronate should be considered early and continued for at least 2 years in men with prostate cancer who are receiving ADT to gain maximum benefit to the skeleton."

1 التعليقات:

Metastatic prostate cancer is associated with a high morbidity and mortality but the spreading mechanisms are still poorly understood. The aminobisphosphonate alendronate, used to reduce bone loss, has also been shown to inhibit the invasion and migration of prostate cancer cells in vitro. We used a modified orthotopic PC-3 nude mouse tumor model of human prostate cancer to study whether alendronate affects prostate tumor growth and metastasis.
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kimrennin
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November 23, 2008 at 10:23 PM  

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