THE ROLE OF HIGH-DOSE VITAMIN D IN RISK REDUCTION OF OSTEONECROSIS OF THE JAW IN CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING ZOLEDRONIC ACID

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a serious complication of oncological patients after or during drug therapy, whose manifestations range from asymptomatic to aspects requiring extensive operative treatment and adversely affecting patient’s qualify of life. Taking in account that the lack of supplementation vitamin D causes hypovitaminosis, increasing bone renewal, losing bone mass, and in severe cases determing osteomalacia (one of the risk factors for ONJ) and that the probability of developing ONJ increases significantly during the first 3 years of treatment, the main objective of the present study is to assess whether the implementation of high-dose vitamin D in oncologic patients treated with zoledronic acid plus the well-known primary prevention protocols for elimination of potential risk factors could effectively reduce the risk of ONJ. Given the simplicity, safety and low costs of vitamin D supplementation, the finding of a real protective effect on the development of ONJ may have important implications in clinical practice, making safer the administration of zoledronic acid.