Phase 3 Trial Shows Denosumab Delayed Skeletal Related Events in Advanced Cancer Patients With Bone ...(valence Bone metastases cancer cells...),Health

Bone metastases, cancer cells that separate from tumors and migrate to bone tissue where they settle and grow, occur in more than 1.5 million people worldwide.(2) With improvements in cancer care, including earlier diagnosis and new treatment options, leading to increases in survival rates(3), the number of patients developing metastatic disease secondary to a primary cancer is increasing. Bone metastases are a significant problem for patients with certain types of advanced cancer, with incidence rates of nearly 100 percent in myeloma patients and as high as 75 percent in solid tumor patients.

With bone metastases the growing cancer cells weaken and destroy the bone around the tumor. The damage the tumor has caused to the bone can result in a number of serious complications, collectively called SREs. These include fracture of a bone, the need for radiation to bone, the need for bone surgery, or spinal cord compression. All are serious complications for advanced cancer patients.

Regardless of the type of underlying cancer, the process by which cancers invade and destroy bones is fundamentally the same. At the center of this destructive process is a protein RANK Ligand that is stimulated by the presence of cancer in the bone.

The economic burden of U.S. patients with bone metastases is significant and was estimated to be $12.6 billion last year.(4) Patients with bone metastases who experience an SRE incur significantly higher medical costs compared with those who do not experience an SRE.(5)

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