Wednesday Dec 30, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- Adjuvant bisphosphonate treatment is helpful only for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, a new study published in the Lancet shows.

The study analyzed data from 18,766 women with early breast cancer who were enrolled in trials that lasted 2 to 5 years.

The study found among postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, those who used bisphosphonates had their risks for recurrence, distant recurrence, bone recurrence and breast cancer mortality reduced by 14%, 18%, 28% and 18% respectively, compared to the risks for those who did not receive the treatment.

The benefits were not found among premenopausal breast cancer patients.  The study also found that bisphosphonates could not reduce risk of deaths from other causes.

Like other cancer treatments, bisphosphonates can cause side effects or adverse effects. 

Reference 

Adam Brufsky, Aju Mathew, Adjuvant bisphosphonate treatment in early breast cancer: meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomised trials, The Lancet, Volume 386, Issue 10001, 3–9 October 2015, Pages 1319-1320