Prolia Halves Breast Cancer Fracture Risk

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besa
besa Member Posts: 1,088
edited June 2015 in Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASCO/5...

"A monoclonal antibody originally developed to treat osteoporosis sharply cut the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women taking aromatase inhibitors to prevent breast cancer recurrence, a researcher said here......"

"reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Additional details of the study were published simultaneously in The Lancet."

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/P...


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  • cp418
    cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
    edited June 2015

    Is Prolia available for non-metastatic BC patients? This is promising news, however, many times insurance companies will not approve or pay for these medications for other status BC patients. Is there more red tape here between the FDA, insurance and pharma companies to push bisphosphonates drugs? I see these studies were done in Europe - so sounds like they are ahead in this research.

    I've been getting Zometa infusions for osteopenia - previously my Oncologist said my BCBS would not pay for other bone treatment options. I just had my infusion the other day - I wish I had known of this study as I would have inquired to try it.


    edited to clarify - my insurance would not cover other IV treatments because I have "osteopenia" and not "osteoporosis".



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  • besa
    besa Member Posts: 1,088
    edited June 2015

    CP416- I have no personal experience with this but there seem to be special insurance guidelines for Prolia for women with a bc diagnosis taking AI's. This is a random search result for bcbs. (I don't know if different bcbs policies have different guidelines.) You might want to look up the guidelines for your specific bcbs policy. When I looked at other insurance providers - an osteoperosis diagnosis often is not mentioned as a requirement (see Aetna link at bottom of the page) but there often needs to be a reason why oral therapy is contraindicated.

    https://www.bcbsnc.com/assets/services/public/pdfs...

    http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/800_899/0804...


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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited June 2015

    I was osteopenic prior to breast cancer, and had demonstrated loss after chemo and six months of Femara - but not yet osteoporotic.  I am 2B and have been getting Prolia from my oncologist for two years.  My insurance covers it completely, and I now measure normally on DEXA.

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  • toomuch
    toomuch Member Posts: 901
    edited June 2015

    Besa - Thanks for posting that article! I became osteopenic after 2 years of Arimidex and my MO started me on Prolia. My DEXA approved after 1 year on it. I'm scheduled to have another DEXA next month. I'll be thrilled if it shows more improvement at 48 months!

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  • cp418
    cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
    edited June 2015

    Thanks very much for your replies. I am going to inquire for my next visit and bring this article. Maybe it was my poor memory and I got the drug names mixed up as I recall he mentioned both drugs were bisphosphonates. So far, I am still osteopenic after 3 Zometa infusions and I've also had Zometa in the past for 3 years/ 6 infusions (now total 9). The most bone loss continues in my right hip.

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