Use of intravenous bisphosphonates in older women with breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
i.v. bisphosphonates reduce skeletal events in women with bone metastases from breast cancer, but little is known about the prevalence and duration of bisphosphonate use.


METHODS
Patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database who were aged > or =65 years and were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 1995-2002. Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes were used to identify patients treated with pamidronate and zoledronic acid. Descriptive statistics were used to describe patterns of use. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the predictors of bisphosphonate use.


RESULTS
In total, 55,864 women with breast cancer were included, with 307,467 person-years of follow-up. Overall, 1.26% of women with all stages of breast cancer received i.v. bisphosphonates. In 2004, 2% of all breast cancer patients and 32% of patients with distant stage disease received bisphosphonates. Approximately two thirds of patients treated with bisphosphonates received zoledronic acid and one third received pamidronate in 2004. Multivariate analyses showed that patients who were > or =75 years old were less likely to receive bisphosphonates (75-79 years versus 65-69 years: odds ratio [OR], 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-0.93; 80+ years versus 65-69 years: OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.42-0.57). The use of bisphosphonates dramatically increased over time. The majority of living patients were continued on i.v. bisphosphonates once started (83% at 1 year, 64% at 3 years, 50% at 5 years), but the median survival time after initiation of i.v. bisphosphonates was only 21 months.


CONCLUSIONS
i.v. bisphosphonates appear to be underused in patients with metastatic breast cancer, particularly among those patients >75 years of age.
Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. sgiordan@mdanderson.org
Sharon H
SH
Giordano
Shenying
S
Fang
Zhigang
Z
Duan
Yong-Fang
YF
Kuo
Gabriel N
GN
Hortobagyi
James S
JS
Goodwin
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D000077268:Pamidronate; D015995:Prevalence; D018426:SEER Program; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States; D000077211:Zoledronic Acid
D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D004164:Diphosphonates; D007093:Imidazoles; D000077211:Zoledronic Acid; D000077268:Pamidronate