Zoledronic acid for the treatment of appendicular osteosarcoma in a dog

Abstract

A 10-year-old male intact Corso dog was referred for lameness and for a large neoplasm affecting the right foreleg. Physical examination of the patient revealed a 5 x 5 x 3 cm mass in the distal right foreleg. Histopathology was consistent with a diagnosis of appendicular osteosarcoma. The staging process found no evidence of metastasis. Because of the large size of the patient, the owners elected to treat their dog with antiresorptive therapy. The patient was treated with an infusion of zoledronic acid every 28 days. The tumour remained stable for 16 months and the lameness of the dog greatly improved. At that time, the patient returned for evaluation of a large rapidly growing prescapular mass. Biopsy confirmed lymph node metastasis and the dog was euthanased. Zoledronic acid showed remarkable palliation in our patient and possibly anti-tumour action and warrants further investigation.

Effect of zoledronic acid and amputation on bone invasion and lung metastasis of canine osteosarcoma in nude mice

“…The bisphosphonate class of drugs has been shown to have clinical utility in the management of solid bone tumors in dogs and man by decreasing bone lysis, thereby reducing skeletal complications and pain [13]. Of these, nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates, including Zol, have been shown to have antitumor activities and bone protective effects by reducing osteoclastic bone resorption and, to a lesser extent, promoting new bone formation [14, 15].…”

Therapeutic Approach of Primary Bone Tumours by Bisphosphonates

“…Zoledronate has been also assessed in dog osteosarcoma. If in vivo administration of zoledronate exerts biological effects in bone (reduction of pathologic bone turnover), appears safe and has interesting clinical impact on bone pain [74][75][76], only one case report revealed possible anti-tumour effect of zoledronate [77]. However, combining N-BPs and standardised palliative therapy did not clearly show improvement of pain alleviation in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial [78].…”

The Use of Zoledronic Acid for Solitary Osseous Plasmacytoma in a Dog

“…Reported treatments in dogs include radiation therapy, chemotherapy with prednisone and melphalan 22,23) , bisphosphonates as palliative therapy 3,20) , and when possible, surgical resection 14) . Bisphosphonates are synthetic analogs of inorganic pyrophosphate and were initially utilized for diagnostic purposes in bone scanning due to their ability to absorb into minerals of the bone.…”

“…Zoledronic acid, a bisphosphonate, acts as an anti-resorptive agent by inducing osteoclast apoptosis and provides symptomatic pain relief in human bone cancer patients 16) . A previous report describes the use of zoledronic acid as palliative therapy in a case of canine osteosarcoma 20) . In dogs, zoledronic acid has been demonstrated to provide significant pain relief in cases of appendicular osteosarcoma 3,20) .…”

“…A previous report describes the use of zoledronic acid as palliative therapy in a case of canine osteosarcoma 20) . In dogs, zoledronic acid has been demonstrated to provide significant pain relief in cases of appendicular osteosarcoma 3,20) . However, in humans there are several cases of adverse effects such as mandibular necrosis associated with bisphosphonates including zoledronic acid 17) .…”