(Star Global Tribune) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that a group of medications used to control high blood pressure, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), do not increase the risk of developing cancer in patients using the medications.
In July 2010, the FDA reported that a safety review of ARBs would be performed after a published study found a small increased risk of cancer in patients taking an ARB compared to those patients not taking an ARB. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm218845.htm.
For this safety review, the FDA evaluated 31 randomized clinical trials, comparing patients taking an ARB to patients not taking an ARB, looking for the incidence of cancer.
“The FDA has completed its review of controlled trial data on more than 155,000 patients randomized to ARBs or other treatments—the largest evaluation of such data to date—and finds no evidence of an increased risk of cancer in patients who take an ARB,” said Mary Ross Southworth, Pharm.D., deputy director for safety in the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
ARBs are medications used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure and other heart-related conditions. A complete list is available in a Drug Safety Communication issued today http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm257516.htm.
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I am most thankful the FDA did this follow up study. The earlier study finding a link to cancer had me worried as I take an ARB daily.
Don’t put all your faith in the FDA!!!!! Just think about the many drugs they have endorsed and then had to pull off the market.
That’s really a good news. I was on Lisinopril for a long time and I had a fear of developing cancer on long term use of medication. Lisinopril seems to be the best..you can find ore info at International Drug Mart.