Breast cancer patients at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust are being offered a new treatment which can improve their chances of survival while also protecting them from bone thinning.

Post-menopausal women, who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, are being given the opportunity to receive zoledronate, one of a class of drugs called bisphosphonates.

The treatment is administered to suitable patients by specially trained nurses at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Originally intended to help prevent osteoporosis in cancer patients, analysis of the results of previous trials in this area found that bisphosphonates could both reduce the risk of bone complications following traditional treatment and, significantly, reduce death rates by 3.3%.

The study was led by Professor Robert Coleman from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism. Previous clinical trials of bisphosphonates in early breast cancer had shown mixed results but taking all their results together, a clearer picture emerged.

It found that among 11,767 post-menopausal women, bisphosphonate treatment not only produced a larger reduction in bone problems, it also reduced the risk of dying from breast cancer.

The most common site for breast cancers to spread to is bone. Bisphosphonates alter the bone microenvironment, which may make it less favourable for cancer cells and so reduce the risk of cancer recurrence in the bone and other organs.
The treatment is administered to patients by intravenous drip, once every six months for three years. It is started as soon as possible after surgery, or at the same time as patients receive chemotherapy following surgery.

Dr Helen Innes, Consultant in Medical Oncology at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said: “This drug is something new to Clatterbridge that we are offering to post-menopausal women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

“The meta-data has shown that this treatment not only helps prevent long-term problems with bone thinning after diagnosis but can also, in some cases, prevent a recurrence of the cancer.

“We want to give our patients the best possible treatment and the best possible chance of living beyond their diagnosis. This drug is another tool towards our aim.”
Philomena McNally, 61, from Walton, Liverpool, was one of the first patients to receive the treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

She had a lumpectomy in March following a diagnosis of breast cancer, followed by a course of radiotherapy.

She said: “I think it is really important to try every treatment you are offered if it is going to help you.

“I was a little bit nervous beforehand but the nurses really put me at ease, they were lovely and explained everything to me and it was all fine and straightforward.

“Anything that can help and protect me in the long run is a good thing and I wouldn’t say no to anything if it will help in the future.”

Photographs
Philomena McNally at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.