Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are important therapeutic drugs for postmenopausal women with
hormone receptor-positive
breast cancer. However, adverse effects of AIs such as
arthralgia have been extensively reported. We performed a joint prospective, multi-institutional investigation to find out whether a low-dose and short-term
prednisolone is effective against AI-induced
arthralgia in 27 patients with
breast cancer. Patients were administered 5 mg of oral
prednisolone once a day in the morning for only one week. Patients were then asked to answer a questionnaire about
joint pain symptoms at one week, one month and two months after the beginning of
prednisolone use.
Joint pain symptoms improved in 67% of patients immediately after
prednisolone use, with 63% still reporting
analgesic effect at one month, and 52% at two months after beginning internal use of
prednisolone. At one week, one month and two months after the use of
prednisolone, 30%, 30% and 26% of patients reported improved daily life, respectively. Our results suggest that
prednisolone could substitute non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetoaminophen or
cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors in patients with AI-induced
arthralgia.