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This analysis evaluated patient-reported outcomes and analgesic use in patients with bone metastases from solid tumours across three comparative studies of denosumab and zoledronic acid.Pooled data were analysed from three identically designed double-blind phase III studies comparing subcutaneous denosumab 120 mg with intravenous zoledronic acid 4 mg monthly in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer (n = 2,046), castration-resistant prostate cancer (n = 1,901) or other solid tumours (n = 1,597). Pain severity, pain interference, health-related quality of life and analgesic use were quantified.At baseline, approximately half of patients had no/mild pain (53 % [1,386/2,620] denosumab; 50 % [1,297/2,578] zoledronic acid). Denosumab delayed onset of moderate/severe pain by 1.8 months (median, 6.5 vs 4.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.83; 95 % CI, 0.76-0.92; p 0.001; 17 % risk reduction) and clinically meaningful increases in overall pain interference by 2.6 months (median, 10.3 vs 7.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.83; 95 % CI, 0.75-0.92; p 0.001; 17 % risk reduction) compared with zoledronic acid. Strong opioid use and worsening of health-related quality of life were less common with denosumab.Across three large studies of patients with advanced solid tumours and bone metastases, denosumab prevented progression of pain severity and pain interference more effectively than zoledronic acid.

To document the risk of skeletal complications in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer (BC), lung cancer (LC), or prostate cancer (PC) in routine clinical practice. We used data from two large US health systems to identify patients aged ≥18 years with primary BC, LC, or PC and newly diagnosed bone metastases between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2009. Beginning with the date of diagnosis of bone metastasis, we estimated the cumulative incidence of skeletal-related events (SREs) (spinal cord compression, pathologic fracture, radiation to bone, bone surgery), based on review of medical records, accounting for death as a competing risk. We identified a total of 621 BC, 477 LC, and 721 PC patients with newly diagnosed bone metastases. SREs were present at diagnosis of bone metastasis in 22.4, 22.4, and 10.0 % of BC, LC, and PC patients, respectively. Relatively few LC or PC patients received intravenous bisphosphonates (14.8 and 20.2 %, respectively); use was higher in patients with BC, however (55.8 %). In BC, cumulative incidence of SREs during follow-up was 38.7 % at 6 months, 45.4 % at 12 months, and 54.2 % at 24 months; in LC, it was 41.0, 45.4, and 47.7 %; and in PC, it was 21.5, 30.4, and 41.9 %. More than one half of patients with bone metastases had evidence of SREs (BC: 62.6 %; LC: 58.7 %; PC: 51.7 %), either at diagnosis of bone metastases or subsequently. SREs are a frequent complication in patients with solid tumors and bone metastases, and are much more common than previously recognized in women with BC.