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Atypical Femur Fractures in Patients With Cancer

Evaluating associations with bisphosphonates

Publish date:: February 29, 2016

Patients with cancer who receive bisphosphonates (BP) for prior osteoporosis therapy, or for metastatic cancer are at higher risk of atypical femur fractures (AFF). This according to a study of 10,587 patients who used BP, including 23 who developed AFF, and 300,553 patients who did not use BP, including 2 who developed AFF. Researchers found:

Incidence of AFF in BP users was 0.05 cases per 100,000 person-years.

Odds ratio (OR) of having AFF among BP users was 355.58 times higher than the risk in non-BP users.

OR of having AFF in alendronate users was 5.54 times greater vs users of other BP.

Patients taking zoledronic acid had lower odds of developing AFF vs users of other BP.

Citation: Edwards BJ, Sun M, West DP, et al. Incidence of atypical femur fractures in cancer patients: The MD Anderson Cancer Center experience. [Published online ahead of print February 19, 2016]. J Bone Min Res. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2818.

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