Bisphosphonates and Gastrointestinal Cancer: Is There a Link?

Preclinical studies have shown that bisphosphonates, one of the treatments for osteoporosis, have antitumor properties, but other studies have sounded a warning about esophageal cancer. To find out whether adverse effects on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, such as mucosal irritation, could lead to ulceration and possibly cancer, researchers from University Park in Nottingham, United Kingdom, designed a series of nested case-control studies using the 2 largest population databases in the United Kingdom. They matched patients aged ≥ 50 years who had a diagnosis of primary GI cancer with up to 5 controls.