My study is about the fracture risk after the use of advanced prostate cancer therapy. It is a population-based study design to more broadly represent the patients in the population because we know in clinical trials the eligibility is quite strict so a lot of patients who are older or with comorbidities are not included.

What was the study design?

The study design is a population-based study. We included all the patients residing in a well-defined geographic area. So we linked it with the cancer registry in the US which covers about one-third of the US population in the registry.

What were the results of this study?

We found that the cumulative risk of fracture actually increased over time and substantially actually exceeded 20% after a few years, I think after 5 years. So the risk is substantial and also we found there’s difference between racial group and also comorbidity may play a role in the risk of fracture as well.

What is the significance of these results?

The significance is the absolute risk of fracture we found is substantially higher than what’s reported in a clinical trial, which is more than double what’s reported. There are several reasons for that – the clinical trials usually are younger, relatively healthier and also they have a shorter duration of follow-up. It’s important for patients to really understand the potential risks of associated fracture, and the doctors, so we can have mitigating strategies to reduce the potential impact associated with fracture.

Is there anything you would like to add?

The bone health agent definitely has been recommended by the guidelines. In our study we found only less than half of the patients have documented a bone health agent use. So further research to understand how we can really mitigate the potential risks will be important.