title: Administration of sodium ibandronate in the treatment of complicated giant cell tumor of the spine.
abstract: METHODS
  Case study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To present three complicated cases of giant cell tumor of the spine treated with sodium ibandronate.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Spinal giant cell tumors are a rare clinical entity with a high recurrence rate after operation. Furthermore, complete resection of such lesions remains a challenging surgical problem. Up to this point, no effective adjuvant therapy has been reported for primary or recurrent spinal giant cell tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  One patient with a recurrent giant cell tumor of the seventh thoracic vertebra, one patient with a fifth lumbar vertebral giant cell tumor, and one patient with recurrent giant cell tumor of the sacrum were treated with sodium ibandronate either postoperatively or upon recurrence of the tumor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first patient with recurrent thoracic giant cell tumor recovered both clinically and radiologically after treatment with sodium ibandronate without reoperation at 6-years follow-up. The second patient also recovered with no recurrence of the tumor at 4-years follow-up. In the third case, although not fully recovered, the recurrent sacral tumor was under control after treatment with sodium ibandronate at 2-years follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These case studies demonstrate the potential promise of using sodium ibandronate in the treatment of primary and recurrent giant cell tumors of the spine. Furthermore, clinical evaluation should be performed in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Spine Surgery Department, the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yuming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rhodesm
authors.forename: Yunxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xingkui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Yuchang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005870:Giant Cell Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077557:Ibandronic Acid; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D004164:Diphosphonates; D000077557:Ibandronic Acid