THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

According to HealthDay, a letter to the editor published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reports the very rare occurrence of inflammatory eye disease in patients being treated with bisphosphonates, e.g., alendronate (Fosamax), pamidronate (Aredia), zoledronic acid (Zometa), and others.

To date, only four cases of this adverse event have been identified, and all were corrected within a few days through corticosteroid therapy. One case followed infusion of zoledronuic acid; the other three followed infusions of pamidronate. The authors of the letter to the editor recommend that, “Bisphosphonate infusions should be used with caution, or avoided altogether, in patients with acute ocular inflammation or a history of inflammatory eye disease or uveitis.”