Osteoporosis Drug May Benefit A Bone Cancer

FEATURED SEARCH TERM:    denosumab


Giant cell tumor is mostly a benign disease, but treatment isn't always curative. Recurrent or refractory giant cell tumor poses a therapeutic challenge that denosumab (Prolia), a monoclonal antibody to the RANKL receptor, may be up to meeting because RANKL has been shown to play a role in its pathogenesis. Will this anti-osteoporosis medication become the go-to drug in patients with previously untreatable giant cell tumor?

RESULT: RANKL, denosumab, and giant cell tumor of bone
Current Opinion in Oncology | July 1, 2012 (Free abstract. Full text $53.35)



A person's lifetime exposure to endogenous hormones and vitamin D intake has clear links to the development of osteoporosis, but how well established is the connection between bone loss and cancer risk? Swedish investigators mined a national database to see whether patients hospitalized for osteoporosis had a higher incidence of subsequent cancer. They found that the bone disorder had greater ties to some types of carcinoma than to others.

RESULT: Cancer risk after hospitalization for osteoporosis in Sweden
European Journal of Cancer Prevention | July 1, 2012 (Free abstract. Full text $53.35)