Denosumab, clinical fractures, and osteonecrosis of the jaw in hemodialysis patients: a comparative study.
Toida Tatsunori T, Kurita Noriaki N, Fujita Akihito A, Tominaga Ryoji R et al.
Comparative effectiveness of denosumab versus bisphosphonates for overall fracture risk and medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) in patients on hemodialysis remains unclear. We compared fracture outcomes and MRONJ using linked medical-dental claims. We used the DeSC Healthcare Database to identify patients on hemodialysis with osteoporosis or prior fragility fractures prescribed denosumab or bisphosphonates from March 2015 to August 2022. Separate prevalent-user (ongoing users) and new-user (treatment initiators) cohorts were constructed. The primary outcome was all clinical fractures, including first and subsequent events; secondary outcomes were first clinical, hip, vertebral, and other fractures. The safety outcome was first MRONJ. IPTW-weighted Cox models estimated hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Among 2379 prevalent-user and 1024 new-user records, mean age was 79 years, and 30-40% had a history of clinical fractures. In the prevalent-user cohort, denosumab was associated with a lower incidence of all clinical fractures than bisphosphonates. Point estimates for first-fracture outcomes generally favored denosumab but were imprecise. In the new-user cohort, the point estimates were generally similar in direction, but the results were not statistically significant. First MRONJ incidence was 0.31 and 0.65 per 100 person-years in the bisphosphonate and denosumab groups, respectively, without statistical significance. In the prevalent-user cohort, denosumab was associated with a lower incidence of all clinical fractures than bisphosphonates, whereas first-fracture associations and the new-user analysis were imprecise. These findings and the low incidence of MRONJ may inform shared decision-making regarding antiresorptive therapies.