Patient preference for monthly bisphosphonate versus weekly bisphosphonate in a cluster-randomized, open-label, crossover trial: Minodroate Alendronate/Risedronate Trial in Osteoporosis (MARTO)

Minodronate is a potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate that can be administered according to a monthly (every 4 weeks) dosing regimen. A 6-month, cluster-randomized, open-label, multicenter, crossover trial was conducted to test the preference of Japanese patients with osteoporosis for monthly bisphosphonate versus weekly bisphosphonate. One hundred and forty-seven patients (postmenopausal women and men) with primary osteoporosis were recruited at eight outpatient clinics. The clinics were randomized into two groups according to the dosing protocol—monthly minodronate followed by weekly alendronate or risedronate for a total of 24 weeks, or weekly alendronate or risedronate followed by monthly minodronate for 24 weeks. Patient preference for either the monthly or weekly bisphosphonate regimen was evaluated using a preference questionnaire. One hundred and fifteen patients (78.2 %) who completed the trial were processed for the analyses. Significantly more patients preferred the monthly bisphosphonate regimen (65.2 %) than the weekly bisphosphonate regimen (15.7 %) (P = 0.007). ‘Dosing schedule fits lifestyle better’ was the most common reason given for the patient preference for both the monthly (32.0 %) and weekly bisphosphonate (33.3 %) regimens. Significantly more patients found the monthly bisphosphonate regimen to be more convenient (73.0 %) than the weekly bisphosphonate regimen (13.9 %) (P < 0.0001). The safety profiles of the two regimens were similar. The present trial demonstrated a strong patient preference for and the convenience of the monthly bisphosphonate regimen over the weekly bisphosphonate regimen in Japanese patients with osteoporosis.