Elemental distribution in bone matrix after chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer using X-ray microfluorescence

Full text: According to the National Cancer Institute it was estimated 518,510 new cancer cases for the years 2012 and 2013 in Brazil. From this estimative, 52,680 correspond to breast cancer (BC). The most commonly used treatment strategy is surgical intervention, depending on the tumor stage; it may also include chemotherapy or radiation therapy. One of the side effects caused by some chemotherapy drugs is the induction of amenorrhea, temporary or not, in premenopausal women, with consequent decreased production of estrogen. Premenopausal women undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of breast cancer have significant bone loss from the first year after initiation of treatment, especially at the femur. The aim of this work was evaluated important elements in femur head samples, qualitatively and quantitatively, involved in osteoporosis when rats were subjected to a chemotherapy regimen, irradiation or ovariectomy procedure. Wistar rats females, aging approximately three months, were divided in four groups: control, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide, docetaxel and ovariectomized. The measurements were carried out in the X-ray microXRF station at the LNLS. Elemental distribution maps were collected at room temperature. (author)