Oral Bisphosphonates and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

: To conduct a meta-analysis on the relationship between the usage of bisphosphonates and the risk of colorectal cancer. We searched PUBMED and EMBASE for studies assessing colorectal cancer incidence or prevalence in bisphosphonate users versus nonusers that were published before August 2012. We used the STATA software to calculate the pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the risk of colorectal cancer associated with exposure to bisphosphonates using a random-effects model. Eight studies met our inclusion criteria, which comprised 5 cohort studies and 3 case-control studies, with a total of 22,291 colorectal cancer cases. The usage of bisphosphonates was associated with a statistically significant decrease in colorectal cancer risk, with a pooled OR of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.80-0.99). A statistically significant decrease in the risk of colorectal cancer was observed in the long-term exposure groups (pooled OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.57-0.93). These results indicate that the decrease in risk of colorectal cancer may be associated with the usage of bisphosphonates. More studies are needed to confirm the relationship.