Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Leading the Management of Side Effects from Important Cancer Drug

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons were first among clinicians to report a sharp increase in cases of non-healing, exposed bone in the face and jaws following intravenous bisphosphonate therapy.

Bisphosphonates are a recognized and effective class of drugs used intravenously to treat multiple cancer-related conditions. They are also used orally in the prevention of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

“We are committed to advancing clinicians’ understanding of the most safe and effective way for patients to benefit from the therapeutic properties of bisphosphonate on aggressive cancers,” says Dr. Kaban. “For this reason, we continue to answer the call as oral and maxillofacial surgeons nationwide rally to explain our findings to the medical community.”

As a member of the Advisory Task Force appointed by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), Dr. Dodson participated in creating a position paper on bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRON). “This document contains our collective knowledge to date on risk factors for BRON as well as guidelines for treating affected patients,” says Dr. Dodson.

Resources

Drs. Dodson and Smullin will present a case history of a BRON patient at the MGH Clinico-Pathologic Conference on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. Members of the oral surgery community are invited to attend. For information, contact oralsurgery@partners.org.

AAOMS Position Paper on Bisphosphonate-related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws, 9/25/06.

Wang EP, Troulis MA, Kaban LB. Risk of osteonecrosis of the jaws in multiple myeloma, breast, and prostate cancer patients on high dose bisphosphonate therapy. (Abstract) Proceedings of AAOMS 88th Annual Meeting, 2006.