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In premenopausal women with breast cancer, chemotherapy is associated with transient or permanent declines in ovarian function and associated BMD losses. In a trial funded by the NIH and the manufacturer of the intravenous bisphosphonate zoledronic acid (ZA), premenopausal women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were enrolled after surgery but before chemotherapy and were randomized to either ZA (4 mg) or placebo IV infusions every 3 months for 1 year. Of 103 patients (mean age, 42) evaluated at baseline, half were white, one third were Latina, and the rest were black or Asian.
At 6 and 12 months, BMD at the spine and hip was stable in those assigned to ZA; in contrast, mean BMD dropped 3.2% and 4.4% at 6 and 12 months, respectively, in the…