Breast Cancer | Pill for bones may reduce risks

Pills commonly used to treat brittle bones may reduce the risk of breast cancer by more than a third, it was claimed.
Women who took the drugs, known as bisphosphonates, for two years or more cut their cancer risk by almost 40%, scientists found.
Researchers in the United States compared almost 3,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer with a similar number who did not have the disease.
Both groups, whose ages ranged from 20 to 69, were asked whether they had taken bisphosphonates for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The condition most often affects older women after the menopause as their oestrogen levels drop. A strong association was seen between bisphosphonate use and reduced risk of breast cancer.
The longer women took the drugs, the more they appeared to be protected.
Those who used the medication for the longest period - two years - were 40% less likely to develop breast cancer than untreated women, researchers found.
Study leader Dr Polly Newcomb, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, said: "These medications inhibit the growth of many cell types, and this large study suggests that the development of breast tumours may also be affected."
Earlier studies had indicated a reduced level of breast cancer recurrence in women receiving bisphosphonates as part of their therapy.
However the degree to which the drugs might reduce breast cancer risk has been unclear.
The findings were reported in the British Journal of Cancer, published by Cancer Research UK.




The Press Association: Bone care pill may cut cancer risk