The ZOTECT study: Effect of zoledronic acid on bone metabolism in patients with bone metastases from prostate or breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The ZOTECT study assesses the effect of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on bone-marker levels and potential correlations with disease outcomes in bisphosphonate-naive patients. METHODS: This prospective, single-arm, open-label study in bisphosphonate-naive (≥6 months) patients with bone metastases from prostate cancer (PC; n=301) or breast cancer (BC; n=99) enrolled at 98 German sites (May 2006 to July 2008) investigated the effect of ZOL (4 mg intravenously every 4 weeks×4 months, with a final follow-up at 12 months) on bone-marker levels. Secondary assessments: skeletal-related event (SRE) rate, pain, quality of life (QoL), and prostate-specific antigen levels. Endpoints were assessed using summary statistics by visit/tumor type and Kaplan-Meier analyses. RESULTS: ZOL treatment significantly decreased bone-marker levels (amino-terminal propeptide of type I collagen [P1NP], C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen [CTX]; P<0.0001), and this decrease was maintained through the final 1-year follow-up visit. Baseline P1NP and CTX levels correlated with extent of bone disease (P<0.0001, each) and on-treatment decreases in marker levels. Skeletal disease burden and bone-marker levels were similar between PC and BC patients, and ZOL did not significantly influence osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand levels. Only 13 SREs occurred in 11 patients, supporting the known ZOL-mediated reduction in SREs. On-treatment bone-marker level changes did not correlate with SRE rate, pain scores, or QoL. Generally, ZOL was well tolerated and adverse events were consistent with its known safety profile. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that ZOL therapy significantly reduces bone turnover (measured as P1NP and CTX levels) in patients with bone metastases from PC or BC.

Hazards faced by young designated drivers: in-car risks of driving drunken passengers.

This qualitative study explored the risk in the practice of young designated drivers transporting drunken peers. Young drivers 18-29 years old in Alberta, Canada participated in 12 focus groups (N = 146). Interviews were semi-structured. A key finding is that when highly intoxicated youth are driven by a designated driver who is a peer, they are likely to behave in ways that are unsafe. Unsafe actions of drunken passengers in the vehicle include physical "rough-housing" with the driver, creating stress for the driver that leads to high risk driving situations and disrupting safe driving through nausea and in-car vomiting.