Matic, Zometa for your mom?

I heard Zometa was for bone mets patients and now the early stage patients can only get it twice a year.  But the drug company is applying for approval to get this under doctor's prescribed drugs.

Nash, are you on tamoxifen now?  Is it working well on you?  Did you get ovaries removed or not? 

Lucky, I am on Tamoxifen. I started it 14 months ago. I'm taking a little break from it right now b/c of the side effects--I've read it's OK to go off of it for a few weeks. Still have my ovaries and plan to hang on to them for awhile.

Don't know if the Tamoxifen is working or not, and I have been reading article lately about how some ILC seems to be Tamoxifen resistant due to the number of estrogen gamma receptors ILC tends to have. IDC has more alpha receptors, which is what Tamoxifen targets. But then I wonder if my pleomorphic ILC, which is supposed to act more like a high grade IDC, falls into the category of having more gamma receptors or not.

I'm glad to hear that the drug company is applying to get approval for Zometa for early stagers--that's where I am with it right now, and it will be interesting to see if my insurance covers my second dose. My onc said they usually cover the first one b/c they think the patient is metastatic, but when they figure out it's being given every six months, then they tend to balk on covering it since it's off-label in that setting.

I am thinking about asking my oncologist about Zometa at my six month follow-up this month.  I have been on Arimidex/Femara for almost 3 years.  My bone density scan two years ago showed osteopenia and I have been on Fosomax.  Wating for my test results to discuss with Oncologist.  If no improvement, I am going to ask for Zometa. 

LuckyA, there are several women on the boards who had neoadjuvant chemo work very well on their ILC, so we've got evidence here in our little group that chemo can work. And I wouldn't say that Tamoxifen doesn't work for ILC--it's just that I read several research papers that questioned its efficacy due to the gamma receptor issue. But who knows what other issues comes into play.

I think it comes down to the fact that there is no drug that works for all women (either ILC or IDC) all the time, and that's the problem with treating cancer in general.

Hi, Nash or any other ladies,



Could anybody explain what gamma receptor mean? I read a post before but didn't get it...and can't find that post anymore. Or a link would help. thanks.

I'm an early-stager who gets Zometa twice a year. I'm treated at an NCCN institution so they are usually cutting-edge. I've heard from two sources that at some point Zometa will become standard care for most bc patients. The reason is that recent studies have shown it reduces recurrence rates. They don't know why. It was not intended for that purpose. It's in the same "family" of drugs as Boniva, to help prevent and restore bone loss.

Reclast and Zometa are exactly the same drug. They call it Reclast when it's given to non-bc patients for osteopenia or osteoporosis. They call it Zometa when it's given to bc patients. It has been used for bone metastasis for quite some time, but then it's given more often.

Hope this helps,

Cinda