A pilot study of bone density loss in menopausal women treated with chemotherapy for cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the incidence and severity of bone loss in menopausal women diagnosed with cancer who receive treatment with chemotherapy. Also, to evaluate the use of bone loss prevention agents in this population.


METHODS
A total of 25 postmenopausal women with newly diagnosed cancers who received chemotherapy for a minimum of six cycles were enrolled in this pilot study. All subjects underwent baseline bone mineral density (BMD) testing of the lumber spine (LS), left hip (LH), and femoral neck (FN). Of the 25 women, 22 also underwent follow-up BMD testing at 6 months.


RESULTS
The median age of the subjects was 61 years (range 41-76 years) and the median age of menopause was 50 years (range 34-55 years). Of the 25 subjects, 9 used at least 1 g oral calcium daily, 4 used alendronate, 2 used raloxifene, and 1 used oral estrogen. The mean BMDs (g/cm2) with standard deviation above or below the mean for young adult women at baseline were: LS 0.996 (-0.5 SD), LH 0.876 (-0.5 SD), and FN 0.760 (-0.7 SD). The following values were obtained at 6 months: LS 0.965 (P<0.001), LH 0.847 (P<0.001), and FN 0.739 (P=0.009).


CONCLUSIONS
Menopausal women diagnosed with cancer appear to have a high incidence of baseline bone loss, with significant additional loss during treatment. Use of agents for prevention/treatment of bone loss in this group is infrequent. A prospective, controlled analysis is indicated to determine the optimal utility of bone densitometry testing and osteoporosis prevention strategies in this population.
Robinson
William R
WR
The Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1500 Wallace Boulevard, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA. wrobinson@harringtoncc.org
Luck
Mindy
M
Omar
Holly
H
Blades
Nancy
N
Morris
Kathy
K
Coscia
John
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017698:Postmenopause; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014481:United States