Seek Better Options Says Expert After Cancer Risks Raise Doubts About Popular Osteoporosis Drugs
Popular osteoporosis drugs such as Merck’s Fosamax and other similar drugs might carry a risk of causing esophageal cancer, reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA’s division of drug risk assessment states researchers should check into potential links between so-called bisphosphonate drugs and cancer.
A letter to the New England Journal of Medicine noted that since the initial marketing of Fosamax, known generically as alendronate, the FDA has received twenty-three reports in which patients developed esophageal tumors. The report has now been expanded to include more than forty reported cases of esophageal cancer and fourteen deaths.
Esophagitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the tube carrying food to the stomach, is already a known side effect of the drugs, which is why patients are instructed to remain upright for at least a half hour after taking them. The ever-expanding list of side effects linked to bisphosphonates includes osteonecrosis, severe bone and joint pain, sudden low energy leg fractures, and irregular heart rhythms.
“The fact that these drugs deposit in the bone suggests that patients may risk experiencing one or more of these conditions many years after bisphosphonate therapy is stopped,” says Warren Levy, PhD, CEO of Unigene Laboratories, a biopharmaceutical company focused on peptide-based nasally and orally delivered osteoporosis treatments.
“For the millions of people who have taken or are considering taking these drugs, it is essential that patients are made aware of new potential long-term safety issues before selecting an osteoporosis treatment,” said Dr. Levy.
