FDA Tells Patients to Stick With Diabetes Drug Linked to Cancer

July 1 (HealthDay News) -- Despite recent studies suggesting that the injected diabetes drug Lantus (insulin glargine) might boost cancer risk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday urged patients who are on the medication to continue using it. Three of four studies published last Friday in Diabetologia showed a potential link between Lantus -- an insulin analogue made by French drug company Sanofi-aventis -- and increased risks for various tumor types.

But, "the duration of patient follow-up in all four studies was shorter than what is generally considered necessary to evaluate for cancer risk from drug exposure," the FDA said in its first comment on the issue. "Further, inconsistencies in findings within and across individual studies raise concerns as to whether an association between the use of insulin glargine and cancer truly exists." The agency also believes that differences in the various types of patients selected for each study may have swayed the results...read more