Breast-Cancer Adjuvant Therapy with Zoledronic Acid

A large, randomized trial has shown that the addition of zoledronic acid to adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer does not influence rates of recurrence or survival. Metastasis is a complex process that is dependent on both the biologic features of the primary tumor and cellular interactions within host tissues. In the bone microenvironment, cancer cells stimulate osteoblasts to release receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL), which binds to its receptor, RANK, on both precursor and mature osteoclasts. The resulting increase in osteoclastic bone resorption leads to the release of bone-derived growth factors that may provide a fertile environment for survival and growth of adjacent cancer cells. 1 Thus, targeting bone-cell function provides a potential additional approach to preventing bone metastases as a component of standard . . .