A study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that administering zoledronic acid every 12 weeks instead of the current standard of every four weeks over two years, does not increase the risk of skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with bone complications due to breast cancer, prostate cancer or myeloma. The study which included 1822 participants with at least one site of bone involvement, of whom 278 had myeloma, showed that there was no difference between the two treatment groups in terms of the average number of SREs per year, pain, performance score, incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw or kidney dysfunction. However, bone turnover, based on higher C-terminal telopeptide levels was higher in patients on the every 12-week dose. The authors concluded that fewer infusions of zoledronic acid did not appear to be less effective, and this alternative may be a more suitable approach particularly for patients in remission.