Denosumab for Male Hemodialysis Patients with Low Bone Mineral Density: A Case-Control Study

Denosumab increases bone mineral density (BMD) in patients not receiving hemodialysis therapy. However, limited data are available in the literature concerning the use of denosumab in hemodialysis patients. We treated male hemodialysis patients with low radius BMD with denosumab therapy for 1 year and evaluated its effect on radius BMD. Seventeen patients were treated with denosumab 60 mg every 6 months, and 20 patients were not treated with denosumab (control group). At seven days, the mean corrected calcium level decreased from 9.2 ± 0.5 mg to 8.5 ± 0.5 mg (P < 0.01), and mean serum phosphorus decreased from 5.0 ± 1.3 mg/dl to 4.2 ± 0.9 mg/dl (P < 0.01). At 1 month, the corrected calcium and serum phosphorus levels were 9.2 ± 0.9 mg/dl and 4.0 ± 1.1 mg/dl, respectively. At 1 year, BMD increased by 2.6% ± 4.4% in the denosumab group and decreased by 4.5% ± 7.7% in the control group (P < 0.001). In our observational study, denosumab therapy represents an effective treatment for male dialysis patients with low BMD.