Osteoporosis

While the epidemiology of ONJ in patients treated with bisphosphonates for malignancy is becoming clearer, this is certainly not the case with respect to patients with osteoporosis. In the literature survey carried out as part of the recent report from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research [3], 57 reports were found. In the risedronate and alendronate clinical trial programs (each involving 16,000–17,000 patients), no cases of ONJ were noted. Post-marketing surveys to mid-2007 indicate an incidence of <1.2 per 100,000 patient-years for risedronate and of <0.5–2.5 per 100,000 patient-years for alendronate.