Zometa prevents bone loss side effects of Breast Cancer medication

The Osteoporosis drug Zometa (zoledronic acid), from Novartis, appears to protect against the bone damaging side effects of certain Breast Cancer medications, according to results in the journal Cancer. Many postmenopausal women with Breast Cancer are treated for several years with aromatase inhibitors, but as a side effect, these agents can cause bone loss and fractures. So a five-year study, called Z-FAST, enrolled 602 postmenopausal women with early Breast Cancer who were receiving the aromatase inhibitor letrozole and randomized them to receive Zometa additionally or only after bone loss or fractures occurred. The result was significant, progressive increases in bone density throughout the five years of the study in women who initiated Zometa at the start. However significant decreases in bone density occurred when Zometa administration was delayed. See: �Final 5-year results of Z-FAST trial: Adjuvant zoledronic acid maintains bone mass in postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving letrozole.� Cancer; Published Online: October 10, 2011 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.26313).