ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical therapeutic value of (188)Re-HEDP combined with pamidronate in breast cancer with bone metastasis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-eight patients with breast cancer with multi-bone metastases were randomly divided into three groups:15 patients received (188)Re-HEDP (group A), 15 patients received pamidronate (group B) and 18 patients were treated by (188)Re-HEDP plus pamidronate (group C).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The overall pain relief rate was 73.3%, 80.0%, 100.0% in groups A, B and C. The response rate of bone metastasis was 40.0%, 33.3%, 66.7% in groups A, B and C respectively. The therapeutic effect of group C was better than those of groups A and B (P < 0.05), without any significance in the difference (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The therapeutic effect of (188)Re-HEDP combined with pamidronate for breast cancer with bone metastasis is remarkable in bone pain relief and bone metastasis control, which is better than either (188)Re-HEDP or pamidronate alone.</p>