CHICAGO – , G. David Roodman, MD, PhD, reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“We use denosumab in patients with compromised renal function,” said Dr. Roodman, director of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Indiana University, Indianapolis, noting one such scenario. That use of denosumab echoes recently published ASCO guidelines on bone-modifying therapy.
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Dr. G. David Roodman
The second scenario for denosumab use is in patients who aren’t tolerating bisphosphonates: “We switch them from zoledronic acid to pamidronate, and they still have terrible acute phase reactions,” Dr. Roodman said.
Dr. Roodman’s comments on use of denosumab were in response to an audience question about when he would use denosumab, given the considerable cost difference between the RANK ligand inhibitor and bisphosphonates.
The recent ASCO guidelines, of which Dr. Roodman is a coauthor, state that denosumab “is more expensive than zoledronic acid or pamidronate and must be considered in treatment decisions.”
Previously, ASCO guidelines recommended use of intravenous bisphosphonates for patients with myeloma and evidence of bone disease. Based on consideration of new evidence, the guideline authors eliminated the requirement for evidence of bone disease and added denosumab as an alternative treatment choice.