Osteoblastic metastatic disease as a therapeutic response to adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer

Included in this study were 43 breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy who presented metastasis only in bone. Forty‐two percent had metastasis during chemotherapy, and 58% had metastasis after the completion of chemotherapy. In 66% of the patients, the lesions were osteolytic. Twenty‐nine percent had osteoblastic lesions, and 5% had mixed lesions. Of the patients with osteoblastic metastatic disease, five showed asymptomatic, osteoblastic disease; this response was considered to be a healing response to chemotherapy. These five patients were continued on the same therapy. The median duration of this response to the adjuvant chemotherapy was 29 months (range 6 to 62+). In one patient, osteoblastic disease gradually faded, and skeletal radiographs reverted to normal.