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Effect of spacing intravenous bisphosphonates in patients with multiple myeloma in plateau phase

Leukemia volume 21, pages 1596–1599 (2007)Cite this article

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) frequently suffer from osteolytic complications, including pain, pathological fractures, medullary compression and hypercalcemia.

Several randomized phase III studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of bisphosphonate therapy (BP) in reducing bone events in patients suffering from myeloma.1 Berenson et al.2 showed that patients with stage II or III MM, and at least one osteolytic lesion benefit from BP therapy administered monthly for 24 months. However, the benefit of prolonging BP treatment beyond 24 months is not clear. Ali et al.3 studied the effects of long-term BP administration for up to 6 years, and showed that bone events can occur following 2 years of treatment and that the tolerance is generally good. However, osteonecrosis of the jaw has been reported recently as a severe dose and time-dependent related adverse effect.4 The Mayo Clinic has recently published a consensus for the use of BP in MM, proposing, after 2 years of treatment, to decrease the rate of BP injections from one per month to one every 3 months in patients with active disease; to discontinue BP in patients who have achieved a response and/or are in a stable plateau phase of their MM.5

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service d'hématologie, Cochin Hospital, APHP, Paris, France

    S Park, D Bouscary & F Dreyfus

  2. Services de rhumatologie, Cochin Hospital, APHP, Paris, France

    D Borderie & B Cherreau

  3. Laboratoire de biochimie A, Cochin Hospital, APHP, Paris, France

    C Cormier, C Roux, C Job-Deslandre & J C Souberbielle

  4. Novartis Pharma S.A.S, BU oncologie, Rueil Malmaison, France. E-mail: sophie.park@cch.aphp.fr,

    A Merlat

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Park, S., Borderie, D., Cormier, C. et al. Effect of spacing intravenous bisphosphonates in patients with multiple myeloma in plateau phase. Leukemia 21, 1596–1599 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404715

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