Zoledronic Acid in Preventing Osteoporosis in Patients Undergoing Donor Stem Cell Transplant

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Evaluate whether prophylactic administration of zoledronic acid can reduce the severity of bone mineral loss in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Secondary * Determine the safety of zoledronic acid in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, open-label, prospective, randomized, controlled study. Patients are stratified according to participating center and type of transplant (myeloablative vs nonmyeloablative). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I (control): Patients receive oral cholecalciferol (vitamin D) and oral calcium once a day for 12 months. * Arm II (treatment): Patients receive vitamin D and calcium as in arm I. Patients also receive zoledronic acid intravenously (IV) over 15-30 minutes at 28 days prior to stem cell transplantation and at 3 and 6 months after transplantation. In both arms, treatment continues in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for up to 12 months.