There might be link between a common osteoporosis treatment and a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer in women, according to two studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Thursday…

The first study from the Women's Health Initiative found that women who used bisphosphonates had 32 percent fewer cases of invasive breast cancer. The second, from a northern Israel study, found that women who used bisphosphonates for more than five years also had a 29 percent reduced risk of post-menopausal breast cancer…

"These are very early studies showing a possible association but without a good long-term follow-up," Dr. Sandhya Pruthi of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., wrote in an e-mail. "However, bisphosphonates are drugs that also have side effects so it is not something I would give to a patient who does not have osteopenia or osteoporosis to potentially prevent breast cancer at this time."

ABC News, with Richard Besser, 12/11/09

Tags: bisphosphonates, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cancer