Effect of calcitonin treatment on osteoclast counts in Paget's disease of bone

Histological and biochemical changes during calcitonin treatment have been studied in 15 patients with Paget's disease of bone. For each patient, osteoclast counts were made by the same observer on serial needle biopsies of diseased bone from the posterosuperior iliac spine. Serial estimations were also made of the serum alkaline phosphatase and urinary hydroxyproline excretion. A total of 66 biopsies was examined (ranging from two to seven per patient). Osteoclast populations and the biochemical measurements were log normally distributed. During calcitonin treatment there was a statistically significant decrease in: (1) the total osteoclast count per square millimetre; (2) the number per square millimetre of osteoclasts in resorption cavities on the trabecular surface; (3) the relative proportion of osteoclasts sited in resorption cavities compared with total osteoclasts; (4) the serum alkaline phosphatase level; (5) 24-hour urinary hydroxyproline excretion. On stopping treatment there was a statistically significant increase in all of these histological and biochemical values except that the proportion of osteoclasts in resorption cavities remained low. The trabecular cement line pattern remained abnormal during and after treatment in all biopsies examined, and complete suppression of osteoclast activity was not observed. One of the patients developed a Paget's osteosarcoma while on calcitonin therapy.