Objective: This study evaluated clinical conditions, methods and results of treatment for anti resorptive agents-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (ARONJ) in cancer-bearing patients.
Patients and Methods: Among 62 patients diagnosed with ARONJ in our clinic during the period from January 2012 to December 2016, 25 cases have malignant tumor as the primary disease. The kind of anti-resorptive agents, cause of onset,stage classification at the time of the first visit,methods and results of treatment were examined in enrolled patients.
Results: Bisphosphonates were used in 16 cases (64%), whereas denosmab was in 9 cases (36%). The site of ARONJ was mandible in 20 cases (80%), maxilla in 4 cases (16%), and upper and lower jaw in 1 case (4%). General risk factor except for cancer was diabetes mellitus in 8 cases (32%). The most frequent local risk factor was tooth extraction in 10 cases (40%). Five (20%) had ARONJ stage 1, 18 (72%) had stage 2, and 2 (8%) had stage 3. In stage 1, conservative therapy was undergoing in all 5 cases. In stage 2, conservative therapy was undergoing in 12 out of 18 cases, and surgery was selected in 6 cases. In stage 3, conservative therapy was undergoing in all 2 cases. The proportion of cases with therapeutic effect was 42.1% for conservative therapy and 66.7% for surgical therapy.
Conclusion: In this study,the efficacy of the surgical therapy was high. Since the prognosis of cancer-bearing patients varies greatly among individuals, it is necessary to select a treatment method after fully assessing the general and local conditions.
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