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CT scan showing osteonecrosis of the lower jaw with an arrow pointing to a fracture.
Credit: West J Emerg Med. Jan 2015. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2014.10.23837. CC BY 4.0
When cancer spreads to the bone, it can cause pain, fractures, and other problems. Clinical guidelines recommend that patients whose cancer has spread to their bones receive regular infusions of a bone-modifying drug, such as zoledronic acid (Zometa), to help manage these complications.
But such drugs can have harmful side effects, including osteonecrosis of the jaw, a rare but potentially debilitating condition in which bone tissue in the jaw is no longer covered by the gums and starts to die.