What helps most to get patients starting on ADT concerned about bone health?

The impact of bone mineral density testing, fracture assessment, and osteoporosis education in men treated by androgen deprivation for prostate cancer: a pilot study. By Nadler et al. 2014 

 

Key sentence from the paper: “…a multicomponent intervention such as the one described can lead to increased knowledge and feelings of susceptibility regarding osteoporosis and can enhance uptake of some healthy bone behaviors.”

 

For the full abstract, see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24696083

 

Bone health care for patients with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy. By Tsang and Alibhai 2014

 

Key sentence from the paper: “Patients may be the most receptive to written educational information delivered at or near the time of ADT inititation.”

 

For the full abstract, see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24769788

 

Commentary: These are two companion papers from the same research group in Toronto. They examine the issue of what do patients need to know about bone health when they are on ADT and when is the best time to get that information to them.

Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is a radiological exam that looks at bone density. The authors show that getting baseline data on DXA helps to encourage patients to take the right actions to protect their bones. The other paper says that the best time to tell the patients about this is right when they start on ADT. The papers also show that many patients are either not taking an adequate amount of supplemental vitamin D and calcium or taking too much. Together the papers emphasize the need for patients on ADT to take action to protect their skeleton while on ADT. 

 

Nadler M, Alibhai S, Catton P, Catton C, Jones J. 2014. The impact of bone mineral density testing, fracture assessment, and osteoporosis education in men treated by androgen deprivation for prostate cancer: a pilot study. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2014 April 3. [Epud ahead of print]

 

Tsang DS, Alibhai SM. 2014. Bone health care for patients with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy. Hospital Practice (1995) 42(2):89-102.