New hope for breast cancer patients

The study found that Zometa when added to hormone therapy, following surgery, significantly reduced the risk of cancer returning or death by 36% beyond clinical benefits achieved with hormone therapy alone.

Zometa is the treatment for prevention or delay of skeletal related events in patients with advanced bone tumors, slows the bone-destroying effect that occurs with bone metastases by fighting abnormal activation of the cells that normally break down old bone, and the cells that normally build new bone.

Zometa has been shown to make passage through the stages of tumor growth more difficult by inhibiting angiogenesis (formation of blood vessels that grow and feed cancer cells), stimulating cancer-fighting T-cells, inducing tumor cell apoptosis (programmed cell death) and increasing the activity of anticancer agents that target tumor cell metastases.

"Early detection of breast cancer in conjunction with advanced treatments available today give women a significantly better chance of survival," said Dr. Farid Khalifa, Consultant Oncologist and Head of Oncology Department, Dubai Health Authority.

This study is the first large-scale trial to demonstrate the significant antitumor benefit of Zometa and the findings may allow oncologists to further improve the standard of care for premenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early stage breast cancer.

Dr. Farid Khalifa, Consultant Oncologist and Head of Oncology Department, Dubai Health Authority, Dr. Falah Al Khatib, Gulf Cancer Center - UAE, and Dr. Salah Fayaz, consultant clinical oncologist and head of breast unit in Kuwait Cancer Center, attended ASCO which encourages worldwide collaboration on the latest cancer research and development of new cancer treatments.