Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21816036›Full record

SynthesisJournal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR2011

Innegligible musculoskeletal disorders caused by zoledronic acid in adjuvant breast cancer treatment: a meta-analysis.

Wen-Bin Zhou, Peng-Ling Zhang, Xiao-An Liu, Tao Yang, Wei He

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Association Between Danish Guideline Treatments for Breast Cancer and Physiotherapy-Relevant Late Effects: A Nationwide Cohort Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Wen-Bin ZhouDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Peng-Ling Zhang
Xiao-An Liu
Tao Yang
Wei He
Nanjing Medical University · CNJiangsu Province Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundZoledronic acid (ZOL) is widely used for preventing bone loss in early breast cancer patients. However, the adverse effects caused by ZOL itself should not be neglected. Musculoskeletal disorders were common after ZOL administration and distressing to the patients. Up to now, no precise estimation of musculoskeletal disorders has been made.

methodsRelevant randomized clinical trials were selected by searching the electronic database PubMed, and a meta-analysis was conducted.

resultsFour trials reported musculoskeletal disorders of ZOL treatment versus no ZOL, including 2684 patients treated with ZOL and 2712 patients without ZOL treatment. Compared to patients without ZOL treatment, patients treated with ZOL had a significantly higher risk of arthralgia (risk ratio (RR): 1.162, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.096-1.232, P = 0.466 for heterogeneity) and bone pain (RR: 1.257, 95% CI: 1.149-1.376, P = 0.193 for heterogeneity). Three clinical trials reported the complications of upfront versus delayed ZOL treatment, including 1091 patients with upfront ZOL and 1110 patients with delayed ZOL. The rate of bone pain in upfront group (119/824) was significantly higher than that in delayed group (74/836) (RR: 1.284, 95% CI: 1.135-1.453, P = 0.460 for heterogeneity).

conclusionsOur meta-analysis suggested that treatment with ZOL was significantly associated to the occurrence of arthralgia and bone pain. Moreover, higher rate of bone pain was observed in patients treated with upfront ZOL compared with delayed ZOL treatment. More attentions should be paid to patients treated with ZOL, especially for immediate ZOL. For patients with low risk of osteoporosis, immediate ZOL may be not needed due to additional musculoskeletal disorders and little benefit. Or it can be stopped after the occurrence of these adverse events.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsDiphosphonatesDisease-Free SurvivalFemaleHumansImidazolesMusculoskeletal DiseasesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicZoledronic AcidDiphosphonatesImidazolesZoledronic Acid

Identifiers

PMID21816036
PMCPMC3159097
OpenAlexW2099930791

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.