Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2006 | Research
Administration of bisphosphonate for hypercalcemia associated with oral cancer
Published in: Head & Face Medicine | Issue 1/2006
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Background
The efficacy of treating hypercalcemia with bisphosphonate (BP) in patients with advanced oral cancer has not been fully investigated. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical course of hypercalcemic patients with and without BP treatment.
Methods
Sixteen hypercalcemic patients, most of whom had uncontrollable locoregional lesions and lung metastases, were studied. Nine patients had been given BP, and the rest had not.
Results
There were significant differences in age and serum ALT between the BP-treated and -untreated groups. The first administration of BP effectively and safely decreased the serum calcium level, but repeated administrations were less effective. Although the patients treated with BP survived significantly longer than the untreated subjects, the difference of the median was only about 2 weeks.
Conclusion
The occurrence of hypercalcemia in oral cancer patients apparently implies an extremely poor prognosis, and long-term survival cannot be expected, even with BP treatment.