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British Journal of Cancer (2005) 93, 267 268& 2005 Cancer Research UK All rights reserved 0007 0920/05 $30.00www.bjcancer.comLetter to the EditorEvolving therapeutic role of bisphosphonates in multiple myeloma[notdef]
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[notdef]AU Ural*,1,2 and F Avcu1,21Department of Hematology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey; 2Department of Medical Research Center, Gulhane Military Medical
Academy, Ankara, TurkeyBritish Journal of Cancer (2005) 93, 267268. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602694 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 12 July 2005& 2005 Cancer Research UKSir,We read the interesting article by Morgan and Davies (2005) on
the novel therapeutic strategies such as thalidomide and derivatives, proteasome inhibitors, and targeted therapy in the maintenance setting or in the induction phase of myeloma treatment
prior to high-dose therapy (HDT). They emphasised the importance of the characterisation of the myeloma genome before
selecting a treatment, the diagnosing of myeloma at an early stage
to deliver the novel treatment in the natural history of their
disease, and the establishment of the response rates and lengths
of remission before novel combinations could be compared with
HDT. However, there is no mention about the novel antitumour
activity of bisphosphonates (BPs) besides its inhibiting effects on
bone resorption in multiple myeloma (MM).As is well known, BPs are used to treat osteoclast-mediated bone
diseases, including osteoporosis, Pagets disease, hypercalcemia
of malignancy, bone metastases, and bone disease associated with
MM (Berenson et al, 1996; Jantunen, 2002). Current views suggest
that BPs may affect differentiation and recruitment of osteoclast
precursors (Hughes et al, 1989) or alter the capability of mature
osteoclasts to resorb bone by altering the permeability of the
osteoclast membranes to small ions (Sato et al, 1991). As a
member, the more potent nitrogen-containing group of BPs,
zoledronic acid, inhibits protein prenylation, thus affecting
osteoclast function and survival. As protein prenylation is required
by all cells, not just osteoclasts, the possibility that nitrogencontaining BPs could also affect the...