The Emerging Role of Bisphosphonates in Prostate Cancer

Combined therapy of Sr-89 and zoledronic acid in patients with painful bone metastases

PURPOSE

We evaluated the pain response and daily discomfort in patients with painful bone metastases treated by merging 89Sr-chloride and zoledronic acid. The results were compared with those of patients who received 89Sr-chloride or zoledronic acid separately.

METHODS

25 patients (12 women; mean age 65+/-13 years) chronically treated with zoledronic acid underwent bone pain palliation with 150 MBq of 89Sr-chloride at least 6 months later that bisphoshonate therapy started (group A). 13 patients (6 women; mean age 70+/-12 years) received 89Sr-chloride alone (group B) and 11 patients (5 women; mean age 69+/-12 years) were chronically treated and continued to receive only zoledronic acid therapy (group C), both constituted the control groups. Patients kept a daily pain diary assessing both their discomfort and the pain of specific sites by using a visual analog scale (VAS), rating from 0 (no d iscomfort-no pain) to 10 (worst discomfort-pain). These diaries were reviewed weekly for 2 months and three different physicians rated the pain response on a scale of -2 (considerable deterioration) to +2 (considerable improvement).

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics were similar in the three groups. The reduction of total discomfort and of bone pain in the group A was significantly greater as compared to group B (P<0.01) and group C (P<0.01). During the monitored period, a significant improvement of clinical conditions was observed in the group A, varying the rate from -1 to 1 as compared to both groups B and C in which the rate changed from -1 to 0.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that combined therapy of 89Sr-chloride and zoledronic acid in patients with painful bone metastases is more effective in treating pain and improving clinical conditions than 89Sr-chloride or zoledronic acid used separately.

Detection and molecular characterisation of disseminated tumour cells: Implications for anti-cancer therapy

Haematogenous distant metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death in solid tumours. By applying sensitive immunocytochemical and molecular assays, disseminated tumour cells (DTC) in bone marrow (BM) can be detected in 20-40% of cancer patients without any clinical or even histopathological signs of metastasis, and the presence of these DTC at primary diagnosis predicts the subsequent occurrence of overt metastases in bone and other organs. The detection and characterisation of DTC in BM may lead to a better understanding of the biology initiating metastatic spread in cancer patients and will eventually contribute to the development of more effective strategies to eliminate DTC. In this review, we will therefore discuss the detection and characterisation of DTC in the light of new therapeutic strategies targeting tumour-associated molecules and signalling pathways.