A systematic review of metastatic cancer presenting in osteonecrosis of the jaws (MC-ONJ) in patients undergoing antiresorptive and/or antiangiogenic therapy for skeletal-related adverse events.

INTRODUCTION

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is reported to be primarily associated with patients receiving bisphosphonate therapies but has been found in patients taking a number of other medications. A number of recent reports have noted the presence of metastatic cancers in the histologic analysis of osteonecrotic lesions from the jaw. The aim of the present review is to estimate the frequency and the type of metastatic cancer most commonly found in ONJ specimens in patients undergoing antiresorptive and/or antiangiogenic drug therapy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A multidatabase (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL) systematic search was performed. Any studies involving human participants treated with antiresorptive and antiangiogenic drugs were considered. Where study patients presented with malignant cells within osteonecrotic specimens, further data were collected. Data are presented using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Thirty-seven study patients had histologic evidence of malignant cells within medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) specimens. The most frequent phenotype of malignant cells found within MRONJ specimens were breast cancer variants (n = 15). The frequency of malignant tumor cells found within the MRONJ specimens was calculated using 4 studies. Out of 604 patients, the frequency was 4.64% (n = 28).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the limited data available in the literature, it is plausible that not histologically analyzing all ONJ specimens could result in a small number of undiagnosed and untreated malignant diseases. Additional data based on a larger cohort of study patients is necessary to understand the role of MRONJ in metastatic spread and the influence of surgical treatment and reoccurrence.