A new study suggests women who take osteoporosis-fighting drugs called bisphosphonates have about half the risk of developing endometrial cancer as those who do not.
The findings back up past studies that suggest these bone drugs have the ability to ward off certain cancers, Wiley reported. Endometrial cancer occurs in the lining of the uterus and makes up about 50 percent of all gynecological cancers diagnosed in the U.S.
In the past bisphosphonates have been proven to prevent bone loss, but preclinical studies suggested they also had antitumor effects such as the ability to keep tumor cells from multiplying and invading healthy tissue.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 29,254 women, accounting for factors such as "age, race, history of hormone therapy use, smoking status, and body mass index." The findings suggested women who took the bone drugs cut their risk of developing endometrial cancer in half.
"Other studies have shown that bisphosphonates may reduce the risk of certain cancers, but we are the first to show that the risk for endometrial cancer may also be reduced," said Sharon Hensley Alford, PhD, of the Henry Ford Health System . "This study suggests that women who need bone strengthening medications and who have increased risk for endometrial cancer may want to choose the nitrogen form of bisphosphonates because this form may reduce the risk of endometrial cancer."
Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common malignancy seen in women in the U.S. and the eight most common cause of cancer death in this population. Symptoms of the condition include vaginal bleeding after menopause, bleeding between periods, blood-tinged discharge from the vagina, pain during intercourse, and pelvic pain, MayoClinic reported.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Cancer.
