dgrilli
06-29-2009, 11:21 AM
:( Diabetes Drug May Increase Cancer Risk
Sanofi-Aventis's diabetes drug Lantus might increase the risk of cancer, according to European studies involving about 300,000 insulin-treated patients, prompting a call from experts for more research.
The European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which released details online of four studies from its journal Diabetologia, said they were "far from conclusive but they do indicate the need for further investigation of this issue."
The research was released after mounting speculation that damaging data was about to be published over a cancer link with Sanofi's modern long-acting insulin analog.
A German study of 127,031 diabetics on insulin found malignancies were more common in patients treated with Lantus, also known as glargine, than in those prescribed a comparable dose of old-style human insulin.
"Our analysis does not provide absolute proof that glargine promotes cancer," said Peter Sawicki, director of Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care and co-author of the study.
"Our study does, however, arouse an urgent suspicion which should have consequences for the treatment of patients."
Following that original German study, which was presented to the European diabetes journal last year, further research was carried out using three other large patient databases, or registries, in Sweden, Scotland and the UK.
In the Swedish study, involving 114,841 insulin-treated patients, those on Lantus alone were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 49,197-patient Scottish study also found patients on Lantus were more likely to have cancer, including breast cancer, although the difference did not reach statistical significance.
The UK study — the smallest of the four, involving 10,067 patients — found no link.
Patients should not stop taking treatment, the diabetes association said, adding that they could consider using a long-acting human insulin or a mixture of long- and short-acting human insulin twice a day instead of once-daily Lantus.
There was no evidence that Lantus actually causes cancer, but it might cause existing cancer cells to grow and divide more rapidly, association President Ulf Smith said.
Copyright Reuters
Sanofi-Aventis's diabetes drug Lantus might increase the risk of cancer, according to European studies involving about 300,000 insulin-treated patients, prompting a call from experts for more research.
The European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which released details online of four studies from its journal Diabetologia, said they were "far from conclusive but they do indicate the need for further investigation of this issue."
The research was released after mounting speculation that damaging data was about to be published over a cancer link with Sanofi's modern long-acting insulin analog.
A German study of 127,031 diabetics on insulin found malignancies were more common in patients treated with Lantus, also known as glargine, than in those prescribed a comparable dose of old-style human insulin.
"Our analysis does not provide absolute proof that glargine promotes cancer," said Peter Sawicki, director of Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care and co-author of the study.
"Our study does, however, arouse an urgent suspicion which should have consequences for the treatment of patients."
Following that original German study, which was presented to the European diabetes journal last year, further research was carried out using three other large patient databases, or registries, in Sweden, Scotland and the UK.
In the Swedish study, involving 114,841 insulin-treated patients, those on Lantus alone were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 49,197-patient Scottish study also found patients on Lantus were more likely to have cancer, including breast cancer, although the difference did not reach statistical significance.
The UK study — the smallest of the four, involving 10,067 patients — found no link.
Patients should not stop taking treatment, the diabetes association said, adding that they could consider using a long-acting human insulin or a mixture of long- and short-acting human insulin twice a day instead of once-daily Lantus.
There was no evidence that Lantus actually causes cancer, but it might cause existing cancer cells to grow and divide more rapidly, association President Ulf Smith said.
Copyright Reuters