Romosozumab and Sequential Therapy in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To review and summarize studies on the effects of romosozumab as sequential therapy for improvements in bone turnover markers, bone mineral density (BMD), and clinical fracture in postmenopausal (PMP) women.<br/> DATA SOURCES: A search of PubMed (1966-August 2019) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-August 2019) was conducted using the MeSH and key word term romosozumab and limited to controlled clinical trials.<br/> STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: An initial review yielded 12 articles. Articles that did not evaluate use of romosozumab before or after another osteoporosis treatment were excluded. Five articles that evaluated the effects of sequential treatment with romosozumab in PMP women on bone turnover markers, bone mineral density, and fracture were included in the final review.<br/> DATA SYNTHESIS: Romosozumab is a humanized, monoclonal antibody that increases bone formation and reduces bone resorption via inhibition of sclerostin. This inhibition stimulates signaling pathways resulting in increased bone formation, reduced bone resorption and increases in BMD. Romosozumab is indicated for the treatment of osteoporosis in PMP women who are at high risk for fracture and failed or cannot take other treatments. The current evidence describing the controlled clinical trials that evaluated use of romosozumab in sequence with other therapies for treatment of PMP osteoporosis is summarized.<br/> CONCLUSION: An evaluation of studies where romosozumab was used in sequence to other therapies in PMP women showed that it causes significant reductions in bone resorption markers, increases in bone-formation markers, improves BMD, and reduces the risk of clinical fracture. However, these efficacy improvements must be carefully weighed against the increased risk of cardiovascular adverse effects compared with other treatments.