Zoledronic Acid

Zoledronic acid is a medication that can be prescribed to treat conditions such as Paget's disease, high blood calcium due to cancer, and osteoporosis. It is an injectable medicine that is given through IV by a healthcare professional. Side effects that have been reported with this drug include nausea or vomiting, fatigue, and weight loss.

Zoledronic Acid for Cancer

What Is Zoledronic Acid?

Zoledronic acid (Reclast^®, Zometa^®) is a prescription drug that belongs to a group of medications known as bisphosphonates. It is used for the following purposes:

Treating Paget's disease of bone
Treating osteoporosis in men and postmenopausal women
Preventing and treating osteoporosis due to glucocorticoid steroid medications (such as prednisone)
Treating high blood calcium levels due to cancer (known medically as hypercalcemia of malignancy)
Treating multiple myeloma or solid tumor cancers that have spread to the bone (to help prevent or delay broken bones or other bone damage).

Reclast is approved for Paget's disease and osteoporosis, while Zometa is approved for the other two uses.

(Click What Is Zoledronic Acid Used For? for more information, including possible off-label uses.)

Side Effects of Zoledronic Acid

As with any medicine, side effects are possible with zoledronic acid. However, not everyone who takes the drug will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider. Serious side effects are less common.

Common side effects of zoledronic acid include but are not limited to:

Nausea
Fever
Fatigue
Anemia
Vomiting
Weight loss (see Zometa and Weight Loss).

(Click Side Effects of Zoledronic Acid to learn more, including potentially serious side effects you should report immediately to your healthcare provider.)

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