The progress of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw with conservative initial treatment: A 12-year retrospective study of 129 patients

This retrospective study aimed to examine the course and prognosis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) initially treated conservatively and the effects of various factors affecting treatment outcomes. We evaluated 129 patients with MRONJ between January 2008 and December 2018 at a university hospital. The factors examined included sex, age, stage of MRONJ (1-3), type of bone modifying agents (bisphosphonate or denosumab), primary disease (osteoporosis or malignant tumor), medical history (diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis), use of corticosteroids, the trigger of MRONJ (teeth extraction or others), and separation of sequestrum, using logistic regression analysis. Patients with MRONJ were treated conservatively as the initial treatment in accordance with the position paper of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Of the 129 patients, 59 (45.7%) were cured, and the condition of 70 (54.3%) remained unchanged or worsened. The overall cure rates at 12, 36, and 60 months were 25.8%, 50.8%, and 72.4% respectively. The cure rate of stage 1 was lower than that of stages 2 and 3 at 80 months. In multivariate analysis, it was found that 37 (64.9%) of 57 patients with osteoporosis as a primary disease were cured (odds ratio [OR], 7.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4-24.4). In addition, 40 (69.0%) of 58 patients with separation of sequestrum were cured (OR, 8.9; 95% CI, 3.4-23.5). The cure rate was significantly higher in patients with osteoporosis than in those with cancer when the treatment outcomes of primary disease were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method (p < 0.01). It was also significantly higher in patients who had separation of sequestrum than in those who did not (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that primary disease and separation of sequestrum were associated with favorable outcomes in patients with MRONJ initially treated conservatively. MRONJ had a poor prognosis with conventional treatment carried according to the stage of the disease. This was especially prominent when conservative treatment was employed for mild cases.

Patterns of care for patients with metastatic bone disease in solid tumors: A cross-sectional study from Switzerland (SAKK 95/16)

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Implementation of guideline-recommended BTA practice is high among Swiss physicians.

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Denosumab is the BTA of choice in Switzerland.

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BTAs were widely administered (94.2%) according to a 3–4-weekly dosing regimen.

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Bone pain and SRE incidence were low in patients with solid tumor bone metastases.

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Low SRE incidence may indicate BTA efficacy and judicious BTA prescribing.

Background

Bone-targeted agents (BTAs) are widely used in the management of patients with bone metastases from solid tumors, but knowledge of their routine care use and the therapeutic implications remains limited. This non-interventional study aimed to characterize real-world BTA patterns of care in Switzerland.

Materials and methods

Non-interventional, cross-sectional study involving oncologists from across Switzerland who completed a Treating Physician questionnaire, providing data on their clinical setting and BTA-related practices, and a Patient Characteristics and Treatment questionnaire, providing data on their patients’ disease status, risk of bone complications, BTA regimen and related outcomes. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 18 years, with solid tumors and at least one bone metastasis and were receiving routine management at the participating physician's center over the 3-month study period.

Results

A total of 86 oncologists recruited 417 patients from across 18 centers in Switzerland (80% public hospitals; 20% private clinics). The majority of physicians (70.9%) reported prescribing BTAs in line with international guidelines; denosumab was the treatment of choice in 78.5% of patients. BTAs were widely administered (94.2%) according to a 3–4-weekly dosing regimen; 33.7% of physicians reported extending intervals to 12 weeks after an initial 2 years of treatment. Physicians appeared to use clinical judgement, as well as formal risk assessment, to guide treatment for symptomatic skeletal events. No association was seen between either BTA use, or risk of complications, and incidence of skeletal complications. Only 4.3% of patients were reported to be experiencing severe bone pain at the time of the study.

Conclusions

This cross-sectional, non-interventional study found high implementation of guideline-recommended BTA prescribing, good pain control and low incidence of skeletal-related events. Long-term BTA randomized controlled trials have the potential to further optimize routine care outcomes for patients.

Atypical femoral fractures from bisphosphonate in cancer patients - Review

Bisphosphonates are commonly used in patients with metastatic bone disease to prevent skeletal related events. Atypical femur fracture is a known complication of long-term bisphosphonate use but the incidence in cancer patients and pathogenesis are not well known. Several mechanisms of pathogenesis have been proposed including altered angiogenesis, altered bone mechanical properties, micro damage and bone remodeling suppression. Atypical femur fractures are atraumatic or minimally traumatic fractures in the sub trochanteric region or the femoral shaft. Awareness of atypical femur fractures is critical to diagnose and treat them in a timely manner. There is a paucity of data regarding the management of atypical femur fracture in patients with malignancy. Management options of atypical femur fractures include stopping bisphosphonates, initiating calcium/vitamin D supplementation and either surgery with internal fixation or conservative management. In the future, it will be important to explore the effect of continuous vs. intermittent exposure, cumulative dose and length of exposure on the incidence of this complication. Herein, we review the epidemiology, risk factors, management options and proposed mechanisms of pathogenesis of atypical femur fractures.

Increased risk of SSEs in bone-only metastatic breast cancer patients treated with zoledronic acid

BACKGROUND

Bone represents one of the most common sites to which breast cancer cells metastasize. Patients experience skeletal related adverse events (pathological fractures, spinal cord compressions, and irradiation for deteriorated pain on bone) even during treatment with zoledronic acid (ZA). Therefore, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the predictive factors for symptomatic skeletal events (SSEs) in bone-metastasized breast cancer (b-MBC) patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected data on b-MBC patients treated with ZA. Patient characteristics, including age, subtype, the presence of non-bone lesions, the presence of multiple bone metastases at the commencement of ZA therapy, duration of ZA therapy, the time interval between breast cancer diagnosis and the initiation of ZA therapy, and type of systemic therapy, presence of previous SSE were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The medical records of 183 patients were reviewed and 176 eligible patients were analyzed. The median age was 59 (range, 30-87) years. Eighty-seven patients were aged ≥60 years and 89 patients were aged < 60 years. The proportions of patients with estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive disease were 81.8%, 63.1%, and 17.6%, respectively. Fifty-three patients had bone-only MBC at the commencement of ZA therapy. SSEs were observed in 42 patients. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, bone-only MBC but not a breast cancer subtype was an independent risk factor for an SSE during ZA therapy (odds ratio: 3.878, 95% confidence interval: 1.647-9.481; p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

Bone-only MBC patients are more likely to experience an SSE even after treatment with ZA.

Correlation of baseline biomarkers with clinical outcomes and response to fulvestrant with vandetanib or placebo in patients with bone predominant metastatic breast cancer: An OCOG ZAMBONEY sub-study

Background

Bone metastases are common in women with breast cancer and often result in skeletal related events (SREs). As the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates osteoclast activity and is associated with more extensive bone metastases and SRE risk in metastatic breast cancer, we hypothesized that blockade of VEGF signaling could be a therapeutic strategy for inhibiting bone metastases progression and possibly prolonging overall (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS). The Zamboney trial was a randomized placebo-controlled study designed to assess whether patients with bone predominant metastatic breast cancer benefited from addition of the VEGF receptor (VEGFR) targeting agent, vandetanib, to endocrine therapy with fulvestrant. As a companion study, evaluation of biomarkers and their potential association with response to vandetanib or SRE risk was performed.

Methods

Baseline overnight fasted serum from enrolled patients was analyzed for levels of various putative biomarkers including; VEGF-A, soluble (s)VEGFR2, sVEGFR3, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and activinA by ELISA. Spearman correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to investigate potential relationships between biomarker values and baseline clinical parameters. Prognostic and predictive ability of each marker was investigated using Cox proportional hazards regression with adjustments for treatment and baseline strata of serum CTx (<400 versus ≥400 ng/L).

Results

Of 129 enrolled patients, serum was available for analysis in 101; 51 in vandetanib and 50 in placebo arm. Mean age amongst consenting patients was 59.8 years. Clinical characteristics were not significantly different between patients with or without serum biomarker data and serum markers were similar for patients by treatment arm. Baseline sVEGFR2 was prognostic for OS (HR=0.77, 95% CI=0.61–0.96, p=0.020), and although a modest association was observed, it was not significant for PFS (HR=0.90, 95% CI=0.80–1.01, p=0.085) nor time to first SRE (HR=0.82, 95% CI=0.66–1.02, p=0.079). When interaction terms were evaluated, sVEGFR2 was not found to be predictive of response to vandetanib, although a modest association remained with respect to PFS (interaction p=0.085). No other marker showed any significant prognostic or predictive ability with any measured outcome.

Conclusions

In this clinical trial, sVEGFR2 appeared prognostic for OS, hence validation of sVEGFR2 should be conducted. Moreover, the role of sVEGFR2 in breast cancer bone metastasis progression should be elucidated.

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Baseline VEGF, sVEGFR3, TGF-β or activinA were not associated with clinical outcomes in patients treated with fulvestrant in conjunction with vandetanib or placebo.

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Baseline sVEGFR2 was modestly associated with clinical outcomes including PFS, OS and time to first skeletal event.

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Increased baseline sVEGFR2 was associated with improved clinical outcomes in this study sample.

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These findings support the need for future studies of the role of sVEGFR2 in bone metastasis progression.