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Zoledronic acid in genitourinary cancer

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Abstract

Bone metastases are a common complication of advanced prostate cancer and while they are less common in non-prostate genitourinary (GU) malignances, they have been reported in up to 35 % of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. Furthermore, they may occur in more than two-thirds of those patients with bladder cancer who develop distant metastases. In the absence of bone-targeted therapies, approximately 50 % of all patients with metastatic bone disease from GU cancers experience at least one skeletal-related event within their lifetime. Zoledronic acid is a bisphosphonate that has been shown to delay or prevent the development of skeletal complications in patients with bone metastases and reduce bone pain in these patients. Furthermore, zoledronic acid has also demonstrated the ability to prevent osteopenia, which may occur with the prolonged use of some pharmacological interventions in patients with cancer.

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Acknowledgments

Editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript was provided by Mary Hines, Springer Healthcare. Support for this assistance was funded by Novartis Farmacéutica S.A. The development of this manuscript was supported by a grant from Novartis Farmacéutica S.A. who neither participated in the discussion nor reviewed the expert’s opinion prior to publication.

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  1. Servicio de Oncología Médica, Instituto Valenciano de Oncología (IVO), C/Beltrán Báguena, 8, 46009, Valencia, Spain

    M. A. Climent

  2. Servicio de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain

    U. Anido

  3. Servicio de Oncología Médica, Hospital Reina Sofía, Córdoba, Spain

    M. J. Méndez-Vidal

  4. Servicio de Oncología Médica, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Madrid, Spain

    J. Puente

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  1. M. A. Climent
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Climent, M.A., Anido, U., Méndez-Vidal, M.J. et al. Zoledronic acid in genitourinary cancer. Clin Transl Oncol 15, 871–878 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-013-1033-1

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