Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of erythropoietin in non-small-cell lung cancer with disease-related anemia.
Previous trials have suggested a quality-of-life (QOL) improvement for anemic cancer patients treated with erythropoietin, but few used QOL as the primary outcome. We designed a trial to investigate the effects of epoetin alfa therapy on the QOL of anemic patients with advanced non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung (NSCLC). ⋯ An unplanned safety analysis suggested decreased overall survival in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with epoetin alfa. Although infrequent, other similar reports highlight the need for ongoing trials evaluating erythropoietin receptor agonists to ensure that overall survival is monitored closely.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Zoledronic acid inhibits adjuvant letrozole-induced bone loss in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer.
Treatment with aromatase inhibitors decreases bone mineral density (BMD) and may increase the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. The addition of zoledronic acid to adjuvant letrozole therapy may protect against bone loss. ⋯ With 1 year of follow-up, results of the primary end point of the Zometa-Femara Adjuvant Synergy Trial (Z-FAST) indicate that upfront zoledronic acid therapy prevents bone loss in the LS in postmenopausal women receiving adjuvant letrozole for early-stage breast cancer.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Zoledronic acid prevents cancer treatment-induced bone loss in premenopausal women receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy for hormone-responsive breast cancer: a report from the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group.
Adjuvant therapy for breast cancer can be associated with decreased bone mineral density (BMD) that may lead to skeletal morbidity. This study examined whether zoledronic acid can prevent bone loss associated with adjuvant endocrine therapy in premenopausal patients. ⋯ Endocrine therapy caused significant bone loss that increased with treatment duration in premenopausal women with breast cancer. Zoledronic acid 4 mg every 6 months effectively inhibited bone loss. Regular BMD measurements and initiation of concomitant bisphosphonate therapy on evidence of bone loss should be considered for patients undergoing endocrine therapy.