[Treatment of bone metastasis with anti-RANKL antibody]

Bone metastases are a frequent complication of solid cancers including breast, prostate, and lung cancers. Control of this complication is clinically important, because they cause skeletal-related events including pathological fractures that impair quality of life (QOL) or shorten survival of patient with bone metastasis. Recently, denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand was developed as a therapeutic agent for bone metastases. In three phase III trials, denosumab is superior to zoledronic acid, a potent bisphosphonate used as the standard therapy for bone metastases, for patients with prostate or breast cancers and is noninferior for patients with other solid tumors in terms of the median time to first on-study skeletal-related event. It will be an effective new treatment option for patients with bone metastases.