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Drug stops bone loss from prostate cancer therapy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An annual dose of zoledronic acid (Zometa, Aclasta) appears to be sufficient to prevent the bone loss commonly seen with hormone treatment for prostate cancer, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Osteoporosis is an important complication of treatment with Lupron, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, in men with prostate cancer, the authors point out, and quarterly treatment with zoledronic acid has previously been shown to increase bone thickness in such men.
Dr. Matthew R. Smith from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and associates evaluated the effectiveness of annual zoledronic acid in preventing bone loss in 40 men receiving GnRH agonists for prostate cancer.
Over the 12-month study period, men treated with zoledronic acid experienced increases in bone thickness at all skeletal sites studied, whereas those given inactive "placebo" experienced reductions in bone thickness.
Neither treatment group experienced any serious side effects, the researchers say.
"Annual zoledronic acid may represent a convenient and effective strategy to prevent osteoporosis in" prostate cancer patients treated with GnRH agonists, they conclude.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, March 20, 2007.
Reuters Health