Denosumab and teriparatide transitions in postmenopausal osteoporosis (the DATA-Switch study): extension of a randomised controlled trial

A preplanned extension of the denosumab and teriparatide administration RCT (DATA) showed that in postmenopausal osteoporotic women switching from teriparatide to denosumab, BMD continued to increase, whereas switching the other way results in progressive or transient bone loss.

The DATA-Switch is a follow-up study of the DATA trial, a randomised, controlled, single-centre trial that initially assessed the efficacy of denosumab, teriparatide, or both in postmenopausal women.

 

An editorial discusses the findings of this DATA-SWITCH study, stating that the BMD changes from this trial suggest caution when considering an antiresorptive-to-anabolic treatment switch. BMD gain was greatest in the group that received combined teriparatide plus denosumab treatment for the first 24 months. However, this effect mainly occurred in the first 12 months of treatment, and most of the benefit was lost between months 24 and 48. This study provides important data to guide sequential osteoporosis therapy and supports the concept of selection of an osteoanabolic boost, followed by an antiresorptive therapy to consolidate BMD gains in high-risk patients requiring long-term osteoporosis treatment. The DATA-Switch study however, was not designed to assess clinical outcomes such as fracture risk.