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FDA conducting safety review of angiotensin receptor blockers’ link to cancer
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The FDA announced Thursday that it will conduct a review of angiotensin receptor blockers after a meta-analysis, published in Lancet Oncology, suggested that the class of drug may be linked with a small increased risk for cancer.
The review is ongoing, and no conclusions have been drawn between the use of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and cancer. The FDA said, at this time, the benefits of this class of drug outweigh any potential risk.
The FDA will review the available data on these medications and evaluate additional ways to better assess a possible link between use of ARBs and cancer. It will update the public when this review is complete.
The meta-analysis combined cancer-related findings from several clinical trials. The study found a small increased risk of reported new cancers in patients taking an ARB compared with those not taking an ARB. No statistically significant difference in cancer mortality was observed.
These clinical trials were not designed to study the effects of ARBs on cancer risk. The findings require close examination for more detailed information about the patients who were reported to have cancer so that it can be determined whether this cancer was in fact new. ARBs have been shown to provide significant benefit in many patients with certain heart-related conditions such as high blood pressure and heart failure.
The FDA asked health care professionals to report adverse events involving ARBs to the FDA MedWatch program.
Single Ingredient Angiotensin Receptor Blockers |
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Combination Angiotensin Receptor Blockers |
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