Abstract:

Objective

To evaluate the short-term efficacy and side effects of Zometa（zoledronic acid）and Aredia（pamidronate）therapy for bone metastases from breast cancer.

Methods

A total of 54 breast cancer patients with bone metastases who were evaluable were enrolled and divided into the Zometa group（29 cases）and the Aredia group（25 cases）.In the Zometa group intravenous infusion of Zometa 4 mg in 50ml normal saline over 15 minutes was administered every 4 weeks for 12 weeks；in the Aredia group intravenous infusion of Aredia 60 mg in 500 ml normal saline over 4 hours was administered every 4 weeks for 12 weeks.The clinical efficacy and side effects were observed and recorded concurrently.

Results

In the Zometa group 15 cases（51.7%）had complete response（CR）and 9 cases（31.0%）partial response（PR）for relief of bone pain，with the clinical benefit response（CR＋PR＋MR）93.0%.While in the Aredia group 11 cases（44.0%）had CR and 7 cases（28.0%）had PR，with the clinical benefit response 88.0%.Major side effects included febrilis，symptoms of catching cold and hypocalcemia.

Conclusions

Zometa and Aredia are both effective and generally well tolerated in treating bone metastasis from breast cancer.There is no difference in clinical efficacy and side effects between the two drugs，but Zometa is more convenient than Aredia in application.

Key words: Breast tumor, Bone metastasis, Zometa, Aredia