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. 2015 Sep;20(3):150-4.
doi: 10.6065/apem.2015.20.3.150. Epub 2015 Sep 30.

Bone mineral density change during adjuvant chemotherapy in pediatric osteosarcoma

Ju Hyun Ahn  1 , Wan Hyeong Cho  2 , Jun Ah Lee  1 , Dong Ho Kim  1 , Ju-Hee Seo  1 , Jung Sub Lim  1
Affiliations

Bone mineral density change during adjuvant chemotherapy in pediatric osteosarcoma

Ju Hyun Ahn et al. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Osteoporosis is currently receiving particular attention as a sequela in survivors of childhood osteosarcoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) changes during methotrexate-based chemotherapy in children and adolescents with osteosarcoma.

Methods: Nine patients with osteosarcoma were included in this retrospective study and compared with eight healthy controls. BMD of the lumbar spine and unaffected femur neck of patients was serially measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) before and just after chemotherapy and compared with controls.

Results: Four patients (44%) showed decreased lumbar spine BMD and seven patients (78%) showed decreased femur neck BMD, while all controls showed increased lumbar and femur BMD (P=0.024 and P=0.023). The femur neck BMD z-scores decreased from -0.49±1.14 to -1.63±1.50 (P=0.032). At the end of therapy, five patients (56%) showed femur neck BMD z-scores below -2.0.

Conclusion: The bone metabolism is disturbed during therapy in children with osteosarcoma, resulting in a reduced BMD with respect to healthy controls. Since a reduced BMD predisposes to osteoporosis, specific attention and therapeutic interventions should be considered.

Keywords: Bone density; Korea; Osteoporosis; Osteosarcoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Comparison of bone mineral density (BMD) changes between osteosarcoma patients and controls. (A) Lumbar spine BMD (mg/cm2) changes of patients. (B) Femur neck BMD changes of patients. (C) Lumbar spine BMD changes of controls. (D) Femur neck BMD changes of controls. Four patients showed decreased lumbar spine BMD and 7 patients showed decreased femur neck BMD, while all controls showed increased BMDs. The interval from first BMD evaluation to next BMD evaluation was 7.8±1.7 months (vs. 12.0±0.5 months in controls).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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