Does Lantus increase the risk of cancer in diabetics taking the drug? Several studies published in June suggest the link between the medicine and the disease. However, last week a group of 14 experts concluded that the research is flawed and inconclusive.
Lantus is one type of insulin injected by many diabetics to help control blood sugar levels in between meals and overnight. Unlike human insulin, Lantus is artificial, or what is called insulin analogue. It has been widely used since 2000. If the studies are true, many diabetics could be at an elevated risk for cancer and the drug-maker Sanofi-Aventis stands to lose a lot of money.
Specifically, a German study of 127,000 people taking insulin, found that out of every 100 people taking Lantus, one more person developed cancer when compared to 100 people taking other types of insulin. And, the higher the dosage of Lantus taken daily, the greater the risk of cancer, the study finds. Patients taking 10 units of Lantus, for example, increased their risk by 9%, while those taking 50 units increased their risk by 31%.
Studies from the U.K, Sweden and Scotland, hoping to replicate the results, had varying findings. The U.K. study found no link while the Swedish study found that the insulin doubled the risk for breast cancer. The study from Scotland showed a non-significant increase in the risk for breast cancer.
Sanofi-Aventis had asked a group of experts from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and Italy to review the studies published in Diabetologia, a medical journal. At the time of the report in Diabetologia, Sanofi-Aventis said no conclusions could be drawn because the quality of the data is poor, according to a Reuters report.
Experts say that while more study is needed, diabetics currently using the drug should continue to do so.
There are currently 200 million diabetics worldwide. Last year Lantus has sales of $3.43 billion and that number is expected to grow significantly because of the increase in cases of the disease, according to the same Reuters report.
[...] controversy started when a handful of reports were released last month raising the possibility that the drug [...]