Osteonecrosis of the jaw: more research needed.

In the past 2 years, an increasing number of reports have appeared in the medical literature that suggest that the use of bisphosphonates, especially intravenous bisphosphonates, is associated with osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). The majority of these reports are in patients with multiple myeloma, breast cancer, or other malignancies. In connection with these malignancies, the patients were receiving or did receive intravenous nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates in much higher doses than those used for osteoporosis and Paget’s disease. However, a much smaller number of cases of ONJ have been associated with oral bisphosphonates used at lower doses to treat osteoporosis and Paget’s disease. The leadership of ASBMR recognizes that these reports have raised great concern among patients and health care professionals. Therefore, we responded to these concerns with this editorial, in which we summarize the current evidence for an association between ONJ and bisphosphonates in doses used for osteoporosis and Paget’s disease. DESCRIPTION