Denosumab reduces burden of giant-cell tumor of the bone

Treatment with denosumab, a drug from Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), the world’s largest biotech firm which markets the compound as Xgeva and Prolia, targeted against a protein that helps promote bone destruction, decreased the number of tumor giant cells in patients with giant-cell tumor of the bone, and increased new bone formation, according to the results of a Phase II study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Giant-cell tumor of the bone is a rare tumor that affects mostly young people,” said Sant Chawla, director of the Santa Monica Oncology Center, Santa Monica, California, adding: “Radical surgery is currently the only treatment option. In our study, the use of denosumab allowed patients to avoid radical surgery and prevented recurrence. We hope that in the future, its use may make it possible to avoid surgery completely.”

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