Osteoporosis therapy and outcomes for postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: NCIC CTG MA.27

A computed tomography radiomics-based model for predicting osteoporosis after breast cancer treatment

Many treatments against breast cancer decrease the level of estrogen in blood, resulting in bone loss, osteoporosis and fragility fractures in breast cancer patients. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate a novel opportunistic screening for cancer treatment-induced bone loss (CTIBL) in breast cancer patients using CT radiomics. Between 2011 and 2021, a total of 412 female breast cancer patients who received treatment and were followed up in our institution, had post-treatment dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examination of the lumbar vertebrae and had post-treatment chest CT scan that encompassed the L1 vertebra, were included in this study. Results indicated that the T-score of L1 vertebra had a strongly positive correlation with the average T-score of L1-L4 vertebrae derived from DXA (r = 0.91, p < 0.05). On multivariable analysis, four clinical variables (age, body weight, menopause status, aromatase inhibitor exposure duration) and three radiomic features extracted from the region of interest of L1 vertebra (original_firstorder_RootMeanSquared, wavelet.HH_glcm_InverseVariance, and wavelet.LL_glcm_MCC) were selected for building predictive models of L1 T-score and bone health. The predictive model combining clinical and radiomic features showed the greatest adjusted R2 value (0.557), sensitivity (83.6%), specificity (74.2%) and total accuracy (79.4%) compared to models that relied solely on clinical data, radiomic features, or Hounsfield units. In conclusion, the clinical-radiomic predictive model may be used as an opportunistic screening tool for early identification of breast cancer survivors at high risk of CTIBL based on non-contrast CT images of the L1 vertebra, thereby facilitating early intervention for osteoporosis.

Bisphosphonates and breast cancer survival: a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of 81508 participants from 23 prospective epidemiological studies

BACKGROUND

We assessed the effect of bisphosphonates (BPs) on breast cancer (BCa) patient survival and explored how long the effect can persist after treatment.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) of prospective studies including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies. We performed extensive sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the findings.

RESULTS

Seventeen RCTs and eight cohorts with 81508 BCa patients were identified. A significant beneficial effect of BPs on BCa survival was found (RR, 0.725; 95% CI, 0.627-0.839), and the TSA results also suggested firm evidence for this beneficial effect. Both summarized results from RCTs and cohorts provided firm evidence for this effect, although the effect estimates were stronger from cohorts than RCTs (RR, 0.892; 95% CI, 0.829-0.961; 0.570; 95% CI, 0.436-0.745; respectively). This beneficial effect was confirmed for bone-metastases (RR, 0.713; 95% CI, 0.602-0.843) and postmenopausal women (RR, 0.737; 95% CI, 0.640-0.850). Importantly, our results demonstrated that this beneficial effect was retained at least 1-2 years after treatment completion (RR, 0.780; 95% CI, 0.638-0.954) and could persist for up to more than 4 years after treatment completion (RR, 0.906; 95% CI, 0.832-0.987). Extensive sensitivity analyses showed the robustness of our results. The GRADE quality of evidence was generally judged to be moderate to high.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides firm evidence for a significant beneficial effect of BPs on BCa survival in patients with early-stage BCa, and this effect was retained at least 1-2 years after BP treatment completion.

The Influence of Hormone Therapy on secondary diabetes mellitus in Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Growing evidences have implied that patients with primary breast cancer (BC) were at increased risks of developing diabetes mellitus (DM). However, as a major adjuvant treatment, the influence of hormone therapy (HT) on secondary DM in primary BC remains controversial; we conducted a meta-analysis of existing studies to evaluate the association of hormone therapy and secondary DM.

METHODS

We searched online databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, Scopus, and Google Scholar) for studies exploring the influence of hormone therapy on secondary DM in BC. The summarized effect sizes (ES) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) are calculated by STATA software utilizing fixed-effect or random-effect models, depending on the heterogeneity of the eligible studies.

RESULTS

Ultimately, 7 retrospective publications including a total of 44,524 primary BC patients are eligible in present meta-analysis. HT use significantly increased the risk of developing DM in primary BC patients, whenever compared with NON-HT BC patients (pooled adjusted HR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.19-1.43) or NORMAL participants (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.14-1.25). As to specific HT medications, our sub-analysis demonstrates the risk for DM in tamoxifen (TAM) users elevates by 30% than NON-TAM use BC patients (pooled HR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.20-1.40) and by 18% than NORMAL participants (pooled HR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.12-1.24). However, for aromatase inhibitors (AIs) users, the risks for DM do not elevate significantly. Funnel plots and Egger's tests are used to evaluate publication bias and no apparent bias is detected in all analysis.

CONCLUSION

The present study is the first meta-analysis which thoroughly reveals that adjuvant HT is a risk factor of secondary DM in primary female BC patients. As to specific HT medications, TAM use significantly enhances the incidence of secondary DM, while AIs use does not influence the DM incidence significantly. Our results can help clinicians to tailor more appropriate strategies for the therapy and follow-up of primary BC patients.

Bone recurrence in early breast cancer patients: The paradox of aromatase inhibitors induced bone resorption

BACKGROUND

Despite the increase in chances of cure for early breast cancer (EBC) patients, approximately 20-45% of them will experience a disease recurrence, particularly bone metastases in 60-80% of cases, which occur more frequently in luminal subtypes. Endocrine therapy (ET) has always been the milestone of adjuvant treatment for hormone receptor-positive EBC patients, leading to indubitable reduction of disease recurrence risk. However, adjuvant aromatase inhibitors (AIs) therapy may promote a progressive decrease in bone mineral density (BMD), which can lead to osteoporosis. The increased bone resorption associated with osteoporosis may provide fertile soil for cancer growth and accelerate the development of bone metastases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this single-institution cohort study, we performed a retrospective analysis of "luminal-like" EBC patients who experienced bone recurrence after a subsequent disease free interval. The aim of the study was to evaluate the median time to skeletal recurrence (TSkR).

RESULTS

143 patients experienced bone recurrence. Median TSkR was 54 months (95%CI: 45-65). Among patients who received adjuvant AIs median TSkR was 35 months (95%CI: 25-54), while among patients who did not was 61 months (95%CI: 50-80) (HR = 1.45 [95%CI: 0.97-2.17], p = 0.0644). After adjusting for TNM stage (AJCC 8th edition), adjuvant AIs treatment was significantly related to a shorter TSkR (HR = 1.60 [95%CI: 1.06-2.42], p = 0.0244). Adjuvant Tamoxifen, adjuvant AIs/Tamoxifen and no-treatment did not revealed to be associated to TSkR.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort of EBC patients with bone recurrence, AIs treatment seems to be related to a shorter TSkR. AIs-induced bone resorption might represent the underlying mechanism.

Survival in older women with early stage breast cancer receiving low-dose bisphosphonates or denosumab

BACKGROUND

Bisphosphonates and denosumab, as adjuvant therapy in breast cancer, have been associated in some studies with improved cancer outcomes. The potential benefits of these drugs used at the lower doses commonly given for osteoporosis have not been established. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between therapy with bone-modifying agents (BMAs) and survival in older women with early breast cancer.

METHODS

The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of women aged ≥66 years with breast cancer who were included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results and Texas Cancer Registry Medicare-linked databases. Associations were examined between the receipt of BMAs at dosages indicated for osteoporosis within 2 years after diagnosis and overall and breast cancer-specific survival. Cox proportional hazards models and propensity score adjustment and matching were used for the analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 37,724 women included, 7925 (21%) received at least 6 months of a BMA within the first 2 years of breast cancer diagnosis, including bisphosphonates only in 6898 women (80.7%), denosumab only in 1204 (15.2%), and both classes of BMAs in 323 (4.1%). The median follow-up was 64 months. The receipt of a bisphosphonate was associated with improved overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.82-0.93) and breast cancer-specific survival (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.92) after multivariable adjustment. Benefits were primarily seen for patients who had stage II and III disease. No benefits were observed with denosumab (stage II: HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.90-1.22]; stage III: HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 0.66-1.82]).

CONCLUSIONS

Bisphosphonates at the doses recommended for osteoporosis are associated with improved survival in older postmenopausal women with early breast cancer.

Breast cancer outcome in relation to bone mineral density and bisphosphonate use: a sub-study of the DATA trial

Purpose

The phase III DATA study compared 6 and 3 years of adjuvant anastrozole following 2–3 years of tamoxifen in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. This pre-planned side-study assessed the relationship between a reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and evaluated the effect of bisphosphonates on DRFS.

Methods

We selected all patients with a BMD measurement within 3 years after randomisation (landmark) without any DRFS events. Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards models were used for analyses.

Results

Of 1860 eligible patients, 1142 had a DEXA scan before the landmark. The BMD was normal in 436 (38.2%) and showed osteopenia in 565 (49.5%) and osteoporosis in 141 (12.3%) patients. After a median follow-up of 5.0 years from the landmark, neither osteopenia nor osteoporosis (compared with normal BMD) were associated with DRFS in both the 6-year [osteopenia HR 0.82 (95% CI 0.45–1.49), osteoporosis HR 1.10 (95% CI 0.26–4.67)] and the 3-year arm [osteopenia HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.40–1.42), osteoporosis HR 1.86 (95% CI 0.43–8.01)]. Moreover, bisphosphonate use did not impact DRFS.

Conclusion

No association was observed between a reduced BMD and DRFS. Neither did we observe an impact of bisphosphonates on DRFS.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s10549-020-05567-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Mode-of-Action of Targeted Alpha Therapy Radium-223 as an Enabler for Novel Combinations to Treat Patients with Bone Metastasis

Bone metastasis is a common clinical complication in several cancer types, and it causes a severe reduction in quality of life as well as lowering survival time. Bone metastases proceed through a vicious self-reinforcing cycle that can be osteolytic or osteoblastic in nature. The vicious cycle is characterized by cancer cells residing in bone releasing signal molecules that promote the differentiation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts either directly or indirectly. The increased activity of osteoclasts and osteoblasts then increases bone turnover, which releases growth factors that benefit metastatic cancer cells. In order to improve the prognosis of patients with bone metastases this cycle must be broken. Radium-223 dichloride (radium-223), the first targeted alpha therapy (TAT) approved, is an osteomimetic radionuclide that is incorporated into bone metastases where its high-linear energy transfer alpha radiation disrupts both the activity of bone cells and cancer cells. Therefore, radium-223 treatment has been shown preclinically to directly affect cancer cells in both osteolytic breast cancer and osteoblastic prostate cancer bone metastases as well as to inhibit the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Clinical studies have demonstrated an increase in survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Due to the effectiveness and low toxicity of radium-223, several novel combination treatment strategies are currently eliciting considerable research interest.

Association of Bone Metastasis With Early-Stage Breast Cancer in Women With and Without Precancer Osteoporosis According to Osteoporosis Therapy Status

IMPORTANCE

Deaths from cancer are attributed more to secondary than primary tumors, but the pathogenesis of organ-specific cancer metastasis has not been determined.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether precancer osteoporosis and osteoporosis therapy are associated with alteration of bone metastasis patterns.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This nationwide retrospective cohort study was performed from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2013, using 2 cohorts from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database: a random sample of 1 million beneficiaries from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database who were enrolled in 2005 (LHID2005) and a specific data set of all the patients with osteoporosis. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer and precancer osteoporosis from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2011, were included in the study, and their records were examined through December 31, 2013. From LHID2005, we selected 9104 women with early-stage breast cancer, of whom 705 had precancer osteoporosis. We identified 29 183 patients from the cohort of patients with breast cancer and osteoporosis, 14 020 of whom had precancer osteoporosis. Data analysis was performed from December 31, 2016, to August 31, 2018.

EXPOSURES

Precancer osteoporosis and osteoporosis therapy.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The risk of bone metastasis in patients with and without precancer osteoporosis and patients receiving and not receiving osteoporosis therapy as well as time to bone metastasis development.

RESULTS

Among 9104 patients with breast cancer from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (mean [SD] age, 46.7 [14.0] years), precancer osteoporosis was not associated with a difference in risk of bone metastasis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.58-1.30; P = .49). Among 14 020 patients with precancer osteoporosis from the other cohort (mean [SD] age, 58.9 [11.6] years), osteoporosis therapy had no association with the risk of bone metastasis (bisphosphonates: aHR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.00-2.17; P = .05; nonbisphosphonate drugs: aHR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.72-1.39; P > .99). Compared with those without precancer osteoporosis (median time to bone metastasis development, 2.87 years; interquartile range [IQR], 1.34-4.86 years), among those with precancer osteoporosis, the median time to develop bone metastasis was shorter in those who did not receive treatment (1.74 years; IQR, 0.58-3.60 years; P < .001), whereas this time was the same for those who received treatment (bisphosphonates: 2.34 years; IQR, 1.23-3.13 years; nonbisphosphonate drugs: 2.08 years; IQR, 0.92-4.95 years).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Precancer osteoporosis was not associated with risk of bone metastasis, but untreated osteoporosis was associated with accelerated progression of bone metastasis when it occurred. Organ microenvironments interact with disseminated cancer mostly after the specific organ has been predetermined to be the designated location. Because recurrences and metastases are major obstacles to cancer treatments, determining which organs may be at risk for metastases may be crucial to treating the disease.

The possible different roles of denosumab in prevention and cure breast cancer bone metastases: A 'hypothesis-generator' study from clinical practice

The most frequent site of recurrence in breast cancer (BC) is the bone, particularly in patients with ‘luminal-like’ disease. Denosumab has been shown to prevent aromatase inhibitors (AIs) induced bone resorption in postmenopausal early BC patients and reduce skeletal-related events (SREs) in bone metastatic breast cancer (BMBC). A ‘real life’ analysis of 90 BMBC patients treated with denosumab was performed. Eighty-six patients (95.6%) had ‘luminal-like’ disease, 72 (80%) had bone metastases at the time of first recurrence of disease. Among 50 patients with metachronous ‘luminal-like’ disease, 40 (80%) had first recurrence to the bone. Among these patients median time to skeletal recurrence (TSkR) was shorter for patients who were previously exposed to AIs compared to those who were not (53.0 vs. 102.0 months, respectively; P=0.0300) and longer for patients previously treated with tamoxifen compared to those who were not (102.0 vs. 59.0 months, respectively; P=0.0466). Both of them were not confirmed at multivariate analysis. In the overall population, 17 first SREs were observed (16 radiation therapy) and median time to first SRE was not reached. A statistically significant difference in the incidence of SREs was detected only between patients with exclusively osteolytic bone metastases vs. those without (P=0.013). The presence of exclusively-osteolytic bone metastases was the only factor significantly associated with a shorter time to first SRE (P=0.011). The only G3 toxicity reported was hypocalcemia in one patient. No osteonecrosis of the jaw events (ONJ) occurred. This study demonstrated that a pro-active attitude enables the treatment of the majority of patients with denosumab without significant class-related toxicities. The majority of SREs were from radiation therapy, so pain still remains the clinical hallmark of bone metastases, particularly for osteolytic ones. The suggestion that estrogen deprivation with AIs can favor a ‘bone-related’ risk conditions for developing bone metastases must be considered with caution and surely needs further validations.

Exposure to alendronate is associated with a lower risk of bone metastases in osteoporotic women with early breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Bisphosphonate (BP) treatment to prevent bone loss in breast cancer patients is already well established. However, data on the association between oral BP exposure before cancer diagnosis and disease outcomes in patients with early breast cancer are still scarce. Limited information is available on alendronate, the most common oral agent for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis, regarding the association with bone metastases.

AIM

To examine the association between oral bisphosphonate exposure before cancer diagnosis and the risk of bone metastases in osteoporotic women diagnosed with early breast cancer.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This historical cohort study was conducted at the oncology division at Tel Aviv Medical Center. The study population included post-menopausal women with early breast cancer, diagnosed between 2002 and 2012. Data on cancer characteristics, diagnosis of osteoporosis, prior bisphosphonate exposure and outcome were collected from medical files.

RESULTS

Among 297 osteoporotic women identified, 145 (49%) were treated with bisphosphonates (alendronate in 90% of the cases) before cancer diagnosis. BP-treated women were significantly older than the BP-naïve ones (67.9 years vs 64.6 years, p = 0.01), but comparable in risk factors and disease characteristics. Over a mean follow up of 5.6 years, nine cases of bone metastases were identified, eight of them among BP-naïve patient (cumulative incidence of 9.9%) and one among BP-treated patients (0.7%). In a multivariable Cox's proportional hazards survival model the use of BP prior to cancer diagnosis was associated with a hazard ratio of 0.04 (95%CI:0.004-0.403, p = 0.006) for bone metastasis. The HR remained similar after further adjustment for tumor stage and cancer therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

History of alendronate use is associated with a lower likelihood of bone metastases in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. Oral bisphosphonate treatment could be sufficient for reducing the risk of bone metastases.