[Effective alendronate therapy against a bone metastasis occurring during docetaxel therapy for breast cancer--a case report].

A 65-year-old woman underwent radical operation for breast cancer in December, 1992. Between September, 1994 and January, 1997, she developed local recurrences four times as well as a supraclavicular lymph node recurrence. Each recurrence was treated with surgery and various types of chemoendocrine therapy, including anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. In April, 1997, she had developed a liver metastasis, which showed a partial response to docetaxel therapy. However, she developed a bone metastasis in January, 1998 (9 months after the initiation of docetaxel therapy). In addition to the docetaxel therapy, she was treated with a potent bisphosphonate, alendronate, 10 mg of which was infused every two weeks. Eight alendronate infusions resulted in a marked improvement in the bone metastasis, and the liver metastasis has been in regression for 13 months in response to the docetaxel therapy. In conclusion, alendronate is a promising agent against bone metastases which occur during docetaxel therapy for breast cancer.