Exposure to Oral Bisphosphonates and Risk of Esophageal Cancer

Abstract

Bisphosphonates inhibit osteoclast-mediated bone resorption and are mainly used to prevent or treat osteoporosis, especially in postmenopausal women. Bisphosphonate use has increased dramatically in recent years in the United States and other Western populations,^1,2 and bisphosphonates are now commonly prescribed in elderly women; eg, in 2005, approximately 10% of UK women older than 70 years received a bisphosphonate prescription.³