Bone health in nonmetastatic prostate cancer: what's the big deal?

Since 2000, the medical community has become increasingly aware of bone health in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-mainly because of new therapies that have been shown to reduce bone loss and associated fractures in this patient population. The threat of bone complications has become even more concerning in the prostate-specific antigen era, because ADT is initiated earlier (with biochemical recurrence after local treatment) and maintained longer before the appearance of metastatic disease. The present review examines the relevance of bone health in nonmetastatic prostate cancer, with a discussion of the new treatment modalities available.