Effective ancillary role and long-term course of daily or weekly teriparatide treatment on refractory medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: a clinical case series

Background Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a potentially severe adverse side effect of antiresorptive agents. However, withdrawal of antiresorptive agents in patients with osteoporosis may increase the risk of fractures. The treatment of MRONJ is challenging and standard treatment guidelines have yet to be established. In this study, the aim was to examined whether adjunct daily or weekly teriparatide (TPTD) injections are beneficial for the bone exposure of MRONJ lesions compared to standard conservative management. We also studied the complications and patients’ responses to TPTD therapy. Methods We enrolled 27 patients, from January 2012 until December 2016, with chronic and refractory MRONJ. There were 4 men and 23 women, with 85% of the total number being females. Nine patients who did not select TPTD therapy for several reasons formed the non-TPTD group and the remaining 18 patients were randomly assigned to the daily (n=9) or weekly (n=9) groups. All subjects in both TPTD groups continued standard conservative therapy in addition to their daily or weekly subcutaneous injection of TPTD. The daily group received a daily injection of TPTD (20 μg) and the weekly group received a weekly injection of TPTD (56.5 μg). We evaluated the complications and benefits of TPTD therapy of MRONJ. Results Three patients in the daily group did not complete the study, resulting in six patients in the daily group, nine patients in the weekly group, and nine patients in the non-TPTD group for the final analysis. Each patient in TPTD group demonstrated complete coverage of the exposed bone with normal mucosa. The TPTD group showed a shorter healing period compared to the non-TPTD group. There were no complications of atypical fractures of the femoral head in any patient. Conclusions Daily and weekly TPTD treatment resulted in a shortened treatment period compared with standard conservative therapy with no increase in the rate of complications or worsening of osteoporosis.