Prognosis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws in cancer patients using antiresorptive agent zoledronic acid.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Anti-resorptive agents are commonly used in cancer patients with bone metastasis or multiple myeloma (MM). An adverse event termed medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ) was discovered in patients using these agents but relatively little attention has been paid to its prognosis. Our aims were to find out the treatment outcomes and prognostic indicators of MRONJ in cancer patients who received zoledronic acid as antiresorptive therapy.

METHODS

We retrospectively surveyed a cohort of 133 cancer patients who received zoledronic acid. A total of 150 MRONJ lesions were included for investigation. Cumulative complete response rate after treatment was calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, and significance was examined with the log-rank tests. Cox regression was used for univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors.

RESULTS

The cumulative complete response rate of all patients at 24 months was 53.2%, and those of patients with MM, breast cancer and prostate cancer were 27.8%, 60.7% and 68.0%, respectively. Having MM was identified as an independent prognostic factor in a multivariate analysis with adjusted hazard ratios of 0.28 (95% confidence interval, 0.09-0.83).

CONCLUSION

For cancer patients with ONJ related to zoledronic acid, patients with MM endure a worse treatment outcome.