Drug prevents bone loss in prostate cancer: Amgen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Monday said that a trial of its experimental drug denosumab showed that it can prevent osteoporosis in men being treated with prostate cancer drugs that can cause bone loss.

The three-year study of more than 1,400 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy showed denosumab produced greater increases in bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and non-vertebral sites than a placebo.

Men receiving denosumab also experienced less than half the incidence of new vertebral fractures than those receiving the placebo, Amgen said.

Both findings were statistically significant, it said.