23 Aug Breast Cancer: Surgical Oophoretomy + Tamoxifen – Impact on Bone Loss

MedicalResearch.com: Interview with:

Richard R. Love, MD MS
International Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Professor of Medicine and Public Health The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Answer: Surgical oophorectomy and tamoxifen treatment was associated with no loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in the femoral neck, and loss of BMD in the first year, followed by stabilization in the lumbar spine.
MedicalResearch.com: Where any of the findings unexpected?

Answer: The finding of no loss of BMD at all in the femoral neck  over two years in this large study was unexpected and a favorable result for treated women.

MedicalResearch.com: What should patients and providers take home from your report?

Answer:  Clinical implications: In most of the world, in premenopausal hormonal receptor positive patients surgical oophorectomy plus tamoxifen is as effective as adjuvant therapy as usual chemotherapies plus hormonal therapy, while all other such treatments are associated with BMD loss at both femoral and lumbar sites. Increasingly it is being recognized that for luminal A phenotype/genotype breast cancers hormonal therapy should be the treatment of choice. A strong case can be made that surgical oophorectomy plus tamoxifen is the most effective such hormonal treatment, and now with these data that its impact on BMD is more favorable than the impacts from usual treatments.

Citation:

Bone mineral density following surgical oophorectomy and tamoxifen adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.

Love RR, Young GS, Laudico AV, Van Dinh N, Uy GB, Quang LH, De La Peña AS, Dofitas RB, Bisquera OC Jr, Siguan SS, Salvador JD, Mirasol-Lumague MR, Navarro NS Jr, Linh ND, Jarjoura D.International Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Madison, Wisconsin.

Cancer. 2013 Aug 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28302.
[Epub ahead of print]

Last Updated on August 23, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD