Belch 1991.

Methods	Active arm vs placebo control Pain measurement tool: not specified
Participants	Multiple myeloma 80% of patients has at least 1 lytic lesion, bony involvement not required Pain not required Co‐intervention: melphalan and prednisone Performance status criteria: no specifications Other criteria: exclude serious concurrent illness, chronic renal failure
Interventions	1. Active arm: Etidronate Oral 5 mg/kg/day/ x28 days every other 28 days indefinitely 98 pts 2. Control arm: Placebo 78 pts All patients received melphalan and prednisone
Outcomes	Pain: a. P value shows no significant difference in pain Others: a. Episodes of hypercalcemia b. Pathological fractures c. Vertebral index Withdrawals: Active arm: 6/98 Control arm: 3/78 Adverse effects not reported
Notes	QS = 4 Study started with 3 arms with 2 active arms (an additional arm of etidronate 20 mg/kg/d). This arm was dropped because of reports of demineralization in another trial.