Lanthanum: new drug. Hyperphosphataemia in dialysis patients: more potential problems than benefits.

(1) In dialysis patients with chronic renal failure, hyperphosphataemia can cause osteorenal dystrophy, leading to bone pain, fractures and excess cardiovascular mortality. In addition to a low-phosphorus diet and dialysis, phosphorus chelators are usually needed to control blood phosphorus levels. The first choice is calcium carbonate, and sevelamer is an alternative. (2) Lanthanum carbonate, a phosphorus chelator, is now also licensed for the treatment of hyperphosphataemia in dialysis patients with chronic renal failure. (3) In addition to three dose-finding placebo-controlled studies, clinical evaluation includes 2 comparative randomised unblinded trials: one 6-month trial versus calcium carbonate and a 2-year trial versus other phosphorus chelators. During these trials, lanthanum was no more effective than the comparators in terms of effects on the mortality rate, incidence of fractures, or blood phosphorus level. (4) During these trials, adverse events attributed to treatment were more frequent with lanthanum than with the other phosphorus chelators. The main problems were gastrointestinal disorders (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and abdominal pain), headaches, seizures, and encephalopathy. (5) The accumulation of lanthanum in the bones and brain is troubling. The known long-term adverse effects of aluminium, another trivalent cation with weak gastrointestinal absorption, suggest that caution is also required with lanthanum. (6) In practice, when a phosphorus chelator is needed to treat hyperphosphataemia in dialysis patients with chronic renal failure, calcium carbonate is the first choice and sevelamer remains the best alternative.