Radiation therapy combined with bone-modifying agents ameliorates local control of osteolytic bone metastases in breast cancer. (8th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tanaka, Hidekazu; Makita, Chiyoko; Manabe, Yuki; Kajima, Miki; Matsuyama, Katsuya; Matsuo, Masayuki
• Is Part Of: Journal of radiation research. Volume 61:Number 3(2020:May)
• Page Start: 494
• Page End: 498
• Publication Date: 2020-04-08
• Subjects: radiotherapy -- bone-modifying agents -- osteolytic bone metastasis -- breast cancer; Radiology, Medical -- Periodicals; Radiobiology -- Periodicals; Radiation -- Periodicals; 616.0757
• DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rraa020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0449-3060

Abstract

Abstract: Bone-modifying agents (BMAs) are frequently used for the treatment of bone metastases. Both BMA and radiation therapy (RT) are effective; however, there are few studies that have evaluated the efficacy of the combination treatment. We evaluated the effectiveness of RT + BMA in breast cancer-induced osteolytic bone metastasis as compared to BMA alone. A total of 43 lesions in 25 patients were evaluated. The median follow-up period was 18 (range, 2–90) months. None of the lesions was treated with chemotherapy or molecular targeted drugs during the follow-up period for evaluating the local response. Patients with complete or partial response were considered as responders, while those with stable or progressive disease were considered as non-responders. The rate of response with RT + BMA was significantly higher than that with BMA alone ( P = 0.001). The cumulative incidence rate of response at 6 months was 54.4% in the RT + BMA group and 27.5% in the BMA alone group. The median time to response was 4 (range, 2–11) months in the RT + BMA group and 6 (range, 4–16) months in the BMA alone group. The overall survival rate in the responder group (83.1% at 1 year) was significantly higher than that in the non-responder group (37.5% at 1 year) ( P = 0.029). In conclusion, RT combined with BMA was found to be more effective than BMA alone for the treatment of osteolytic bone metastasis, which thereby improves the prognosis.