December 2013
Clin Cancer Res. 2013. [Epub ahead of print]
Palmieri C, Fullarton JR, Brown J
Using a mixed treatment comparison, the efficacy of zoledronic acid was compared to other bisphosphonates (clodronate, pamidronate and ibandronate) in patients with skeletal-related events secondary to multiple myeloma, metastatic breast and prostate cancer. In this review 17 studies were identified (7 breast; 3 prostate; 7 multiple myeloma). The skeletal-related event (SRE) rates in multiple myeloma, metastatic breast and prostate cancer were variable depending on the malignancy and bisphosphonate used, but were less for zoledronic acid across all groups, with pamidronate and ibandronate having an excess SRE rate of over 70% in prostate cancer and multiple myeloma respectively. Zoledronic acid appears to be the most efficacious bisphosphonate for reducing the risk of SREs in patients with cancer of the breast or prostate and in patients with multiple myeloma.