FDA warns of cancer risk from osteoporosis drug ingredient

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17147388-fda-warns-of-cancer-risk-from-osteoporosis-drug-ingredient?lite

by Toni Clarke, vitals.nbcnews.com
Mar. 1, 2013

Staff reviewers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that a potential increased risk of cancer with drugs containing calcitonin salmon appears plausible.

In briefing documents released on Friday, the reviewers said the risk raises concerns about the overall risk versus benefit of calcitonin products to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

-----

Last July European regulators recommended that long-term use of calcitonin be curtailed after a review found evidence of a small increased risk of cancer with long-term use of the drugs.

They recommended that they should only be authorized for short-term use in Paget's disease, a bone disorder; for acute bone loss due to sudden immobilization; and for excess calcium in the blood caused by cancer. They ruled that the benefits of calcitonin-containing medicines did not outweigh their risks in the treatment of osteoporosis and that they should no longer be used for this condition.

-----