Elsevier

Annals of Oncology

Volume 19, Issue 12, December 2008, Pages 2007-2011
Annals of Oncology

original articles
breast cancer
Adjuvant oral clodronate improves the overall survival of primary breast cancer patients with micrometastases to the bone marrow—a long-term follow-up

https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdn429Get rights and content
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Abstract

Background: Adding oral clodronate to postoperative adjuvant breast cancer therapy significantly improves disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Long-term follow-up data from the prospective, randomized, controlled study are reported.

Patients and methods: Patients with primary breast cancer received clodronate 1600 mg/day for 2 years or no treatment along with standard adjuvant breast cancer treatment.

Results: Analysis of 290 of 302 patients demonstrated that a significant improvement in OS was maintained in the clodronate group at a median follow-up of 103 ± 12 months; 20.4% of patients in the clodronate group versus 40.7% of control group patients (P = 0.04) died during the 8.5 years following primary surgical therapy. Significant reductions in the incidence of bony and visceral metastases and improvement in duration of DFS at 36- and 55-month follow-up periods were no longer seen with clodronate.

Conclusion: These long-term survival data extend the survival advantage reported in previous studies with oral clodronate in breast cancer.

Key words

adjuvant therapy
bisphosphonate
breast neoplasm
clodronate

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