Steroids, cancer and vertebral fractures: a dreaded combination.

Abstract	Hyporexia/anorexia is a relevant clinical problem affecting the quality of life of many cancer patients. Corticosteroids are the first drugs evaluated in placebo-controlled trials for the palliation of cancer anorexia resulting in a temporary improvement in appetite. However, this measure should be balanced with its secondary events. A frequent side effect mainly after long-term treatment with steroids is the loss of bone mass, which causes osteoporosis and vertebral fractures. But this secondary event might also appear after short courses of steroids. Percutaneous vertebroplasty is an effective treatment of painful osteoporotic compression fractures, minimally invasive and with very low morbidity, which is very useful to improve quality of life in these patients. We present here a case of a 71-year-old woman, with history of osteoporosis, who developed a painful vertebral fracture after a short course of steroids to alleviate anorexia secondary to cancer treatment.
Authors	Esther Uña Cidón
Journal	Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (J Oncol Pharm Pract) Vol. 17 Issue 3 Pg. 279-81 (Sep 2011) ISSN: 1477-092X [Electronic] England
PMID	20395352 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
Chemical References	Adrenal Cortex Hormones Organoplatinum Compounds Oxaliplatin Deoxycytidine Capecitabine Dexamethasone Fluorouracil
Topics	Adrenal Cortex Hormones (administration & dosage, adverse effects) Aged Anorexia (chemically induced, drug therapy) Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (adverse effects) Capecitabine Colorectal Neoplasms (drug therapy, pathology) Deoxycytidine (administration & dosage, adverse effects, analogs & derivatives) Dexamethasone (administration & dosage, adverse effects) Female Fluorouracil (administration & dosage, adverse effects, analogs & derivatives) Humans Liver Neoplasms (drug therapy, secondary) Magnetic Resonance Imaging Organoplatinum Compounds (administration & dosage, adverse effects) Osteoporosis (complications) Oxaliplatin Palliative Care Quality of Life Risk Factors Spinal Fractures (chemically induced, diagnosis, therapy) Time Factors Treatment Outcome Vertebroplasty

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.

Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!