Pharmacology
Zoledronic acid Improves Bone Density in Breast Cancer Patients
By Novartis Pharmaceuticals
May 22, 2005, 22:35

Zometa(R) (zoledronic acid) injection, an intravenous bisphosphonate administered to more than one million patients worldwide, was shown to inhibit aromatase inhibitor-induced bone loss in postmenopausal women treated with Femara(R) (letrozole tablets) in the adjuvant breast cancer setting.

Final data of the primary endpoint of 12-month bone mineral density ( BMD ) demonstrate a significant increase in BMD for those breast cancer patients treated with Femara and upfront Zometa compared with those who received Femara and delayed Zometa. These data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology ( ASCO ) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Several studies have shown that women treated with hormonal therapy in the adjuvant breast cancer setting are at risk of bone loss. New data from the Z- FAST ( Zometa-Femara Adjuvant Synergy Trial ) study offer evidence that Zometa may prevent bone loss in these patients. These data are particularly important given that aromatase inhibitors are a widely prescribed hormonal therapy for newly diagnosed breast cancer.

"These are valuable and encouraging data for the medical community and breast cancer patients," said Adam Brufsky, M.D. Ph.D., co-director, Magee Women's Hospital/UPCI Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, PA and assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, principal investigator. "It is exciting that Zometa has shown activity against bone loss in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant treatment with an aromatase inhibitor."

Study results

The Z-FAST study showed that at the 12-month follow-up, the group of patients receiving upfront Zometa had a mean increase of lumbar spine BMD of 1.9% vs. a decrease of 2.4% in the group of patients who received delayed Zometa ( p<0

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