A systematic review of the role of bisphosphonates in metastatic disease

Ross J R, Saunders Y, Edmonds P M, Patel S, Wonderling D, Normand C, Broadley K
Record ID 32004000146
English
Authors' objectives:

To identify evidence for the role of bisphosphonates in malignancy for the

- treatment of hypercalcaemia - prevention of skeletal morbidity - use in the adjuvant setting.

To perform an economic review of current literature and to model the cost-effectiveness of bisphosphonates in the treatment of hypercalcaemia and prevention of skeletal morbidity.

Authors' recommendations: Bisphosphonates normalise serum calcium in >70% of patients with hypercalcaemia of malignancy within 26 days; pamidronate doubles the time to relapse compared with non-aminobisphosphonates. They significantly reduce SREs and delay the time to first SRE in patients with bony metastatic breast cancer and multiple myeloma. Benefit is seen at different time points for different SREs. Bisphosphonates do not affect survival. The current evidence is strongest for the efficacy of pamidronate and for the intravenous over the oral route of administration. In primary operable breast cancer, oral clodronate reduces the number of patients developing bone metastases.
Authors' methods: Systematic review
Details
Project Status: Completed
URL for project: http://www.hta.ac.uk/1184
Year Published: 2004
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: England, United Kingdom
MeSH Terms
  • Costs and Cost Analysis
  • Diphosphonates
  • Hypercalcemia
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
Contact
Organisation Name: NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme
Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK
Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk
Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk
Copyright: 2009 Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO
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