TUESDAY, Sept. 2, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- A drug used to prevent bone loss shows promise in treating advanced prostate cancer, says a British study in the Sept. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The study found oral sodium clodronate may slow the development of symptomatic bone metastases in men with advanced prostate cancer. Prostate cancer spreads most commonly to the bone. Bone metastases affects at least 85 percent of men with advanced prostate cancer.
This study included 311 men with prostate cancer who were starting or responding to hormone therapy for bone metastases. They received either oral sodium clodronate or a placebo for up to three years.
After about five years of follow-up, men taking the oral sodium clodronate showed a 21 percent reduction in the risk of symptomatic bone progression and a 20 percent decrease in the risk of death, compared with the men taking the placebo.
The authors note these particular findings were not statistically significant due to a number of study limitations, including the small size of the study group.
The study also found the men taking the drug had a 71 percent greater risk of side effects. But these side effects were reversed when the drug dose was modified. A subgroup analysis done during the study suggested the drug may be more effective in men more recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
More information
Here's where you can learn more about prostate cancer.
