Why have I been offered a drug called sodium clodronate?

PiNK 2020 Spring issue

【Your Questions Answered】Breast Cancer Care’s experts answer your questions about breast cancer and its treatments.

Q: I’ve been prescribed a drug called sodium clodronate, in addition to aletrozole, as a part of my treatment. Why would I need to take this?

A: Sodium clodronate belongs to a group of drugs called bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates can slow down or prevent bone damage. Some treatments for breast cancer can increase your risk of getting osteoporosis and your bone breaking. Bisphosphonates reduce this risk.

Research has also shown bisphosphonates may help reduce the risk of breast cancer spreading to the bones and elsewhere in the body in post- menopausal women being treated for primary breast cancer.

National guidelines now recommend that sodium clodronate, or another drug called zoledronic acid, are offered alongside other treatments to post-menopausal women woman have invasive breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. They may also be considered for invasive breast cancer that has not spread to the lymph nodes.

Sodium clodronate is a tablet that is taken once a day, and you’ll usually be advised to take it for two or three years.