The use of bisphosphonates in breast cancer.

Bisphosphonates will become increasingly important in the management of patients with breast cancer. Currently, bisphosphonates are used to treat bone metastasis because they effectively relieve pain, prevent pathological fractures and treat hypercalcaemia of malignancy. Recent advances in systemic adjuvant therapies for breast cancer are improving survival but many treatments are detrimental to bone and can increase the risk of fracture. The monitoring of breast cancer patients at risk of developing osteoporosis will become increasingly important as survival times improve and more potent treatments are developed. Bisphosphonates may also play a role as an adjuvant therapy for the prevention of bone metastasis in high-risk breast cancer patients.