KTEN Denison TV, July 23, 2007 GALVESTON - A new report from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston shows patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates are at increased risk of jaw or facial bone deterioration or infection. The drugs are used to treat cancer-related bone lesions, elevated calcium levels in the blood, or reduced bone density. Researchers looked at data of more than 14,000 cancer patients who were treated with two types of bisphosphonates -- either pamidronate or zoledronic acid -- and 28,000 patients who did not receive the drugs. Results show after six years about 5.5 percent of bisphosphonate users had facial or jaw bone surgery or were diagnosed with inflammation of the jaw bone compared with 0.3 percent of patients who did not take the drugs. But the study could not determine whether the bisphosphonates caused the bone problems or whether the patients were already predisposed to having them.