Clodronate (and statins)

[saleboat]

Hi all,

I'm considering taking clodronate off-label, as suggested by a second-opinion Onc that I see. This is regularly prescribed in Canada and Europe as an adjuvent treatment. The Onc reminded me that I'm still considered 'hi-risk' and I'm taking his recommendations seriously. He also suggested statins as a way of managing bc risk.

Anyone else pursue similar off-label strategies?

Many thanks,
Jen

[heblaj01]

Saleboat,
Based on a single case in my family with a medical history rather different than yours, clodronate as a single agent started to reverse an uptrending CEA after the 2nd monthly I.V.(1600mg)
The CEA which had gone up from 5.5 to 8.7 in 9 months after stopping Femara (due to osteoporosis side effect), went down to 6.5 one month after stopping clodronate on IV number 6.
After one month off time, monthly Zometa I.V's as single agent followed & dropped CEA to a low of 4.3 in 5 infusions. A 6 months off period followed (no anti cancer treatment). CEA rose back to 6.0 . A new 6 month cycle of Zometa dropped CEA to a new low of 3.9. Unfortunately Zometa was stopped due to new admissibility regulations & replaced with aromasin which did not work
The medical history before starting clodronate was 1 lumpectomy (1cm,24 years ago) followed by 15 years on Tamoxifen then 2 lumpectomies (1cm each, in 2 years, 1 axillary lymph node not removed) them 21 months on Femara then 9 months without any treatment untill clodronate was started.

More generally, you will find on internet references to at least 2 large, long lasting studies of clodronate made in Finland. They both showed at 5 years & at 10 years that there was a reduced risk of remote visceral metastases.

I am not well informed on statins but I did hear that they could help . One point to remember when taking statins is that they tend to reduce coenzyme Q10 in the heart muscle which can cause heart problems if left uncorrected (one possible remedy: supplementation with CoQ10)