The study was sponsored by Zometa's maker, Swiss-based Novartis AG, and the study leader consults for the company. With doctor fees, a Zometa infusion can run more than $1,200. In the study it was given every three weeks for four to six months.
Known side effects of Zometa and other bone-building bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax include bone, joint or muscle pain and in rare cases, jawbone decay. They are mainly used to treat osteoporosis.
Also at the conference, several reports strengthened evidence that newer hormone-blockers called aromatase inhibitors, or AIs, do a better job of preventing cancer recurrences and may give a slight survival advantage over the long-used drug tamoxifen.
These drugs work against estrogen, which helps most breast tumors grow, and are given for about five years after surgery for early stage breast cancer to prevent its return.
Tamoxifen has been used for decades and is sold in generic form for about $70 a month. The newer drugs cost around $300 and come in three brands: AstraZeneca PLC's Arimidex (anastrozole), Pfizer Inc.'s Aromasin (exemestane) and Novartis' Femara (letrozole). They only work in women after menopause.
Doctors already know that women who take these newer drugs either as initial treatment or after a few years of tamoxifen have better chances of staying cancer-free. But which of these approaches is best is not known.
Results of a study led by Novartis consultant Dr. Henning Mouridsen of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark mostly were a draw. There were trends toward improved survival for women starting on Femara, but the differences were so small they could have occurred by chance alone.
ref: the timesofindia
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