Bone mineral density in patients with breast cancer in the perimenopausal period

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to examine 54 patients with breast cancer. A clinical comparison group comprised 50 healthy women. All the examinees were aged 45 to 55 years. Bone mineral density was measured in the lumbar spine, proximal femur, and ultradistal antibrachium. The X-ray densitometric values of bone tissues in perimenopausal women with breast cancer were not found to be abnormal, which led to the conclusion that there were no significant bone metabolic disturbances. Along with this it was established that the women at this age had considerably reduced bone mineral density in the epimetaphyseal (ultradistal) forearm with evolving osteopenia. In this connection, it is expedient to identify an ultradistal portion of the antibrachium as an object of X-ray densitometric examination for the early diagnosis of impaired bone mineralization in women in the 45-to-55-year-old age group.