Prolia® (generic name: denosumab) is a recently developed drug prescribed for a wide range of conditions of the skeletal bones, including osteoporosis, bone loss induced by radical treatments for cancer, cases where cancers have metastasized to bones, and giant cell tumors of bones.
Denosumab is a human monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibody therapy has two main influences in the body:
- It inhibits the formation of osteoclasts (the cells involved in the breakdown and resorption of bones), which will allow for an increased bone mineral density (BMD), thereby reducing the risk of fracture.
- It helps the body’s immune system to target tumor cells or abnormal cells in the body that are otherwise recognized as body cells, but are leading to health-threatening disabilities.
