Bone-Building Drug May Stymie Breast Cancer

Make no bones about it: Maintaining a strong skeleton could be a key to stopping the spread of metastatic breast cancer, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine here. The study involved more than 100 women with locally advanced cancer. Doctors found that those who received zoledronic acid, a drug that helps builds bone tissue, were less likely to wind up with renegade cancer cells in their bone marrow. Such cells can spur tumor growth elsewhere in the body. The findings will be reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in early June in Chicago. "Tumor cells are continually being released from the primary tumor," explained Dr. Rebecca Alt, the study's lead author and a breast surgeon...