jasmine
09-05-2010, 05:39 AM
http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/bisphosphonates-build-bones-but-do-they-also-cause-esophageal-cancer/19620157?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%7C168614
Bone-Building Bisphosphonates May Increase Risk of Esophageal Cancer
(Sept. 3) -- They help boost bone strength, but a class of drugs known as oral bisphosphonates also appear to increase one's risk of developing esophageal cancer.
And while that's the study conclusion making headlines this week, it's not the first research to suggest significant downsides to the medications -- especially with long-term use.
What are bisphosphonates, and who takes them?
Sold under names like Fosamax and Boniva, the drugs are mostly aimed at combating age-related bone loss, known as osteoporosis.
They work by preventing the latter portion of bone metabolism, an ongoing process of bone creation and digestion, from progressing. And the drugs are certainly effective, usually curbing risk of bone fractures by 30 to 50 percent.
More than 10 million Americans are estimated to suffer from osteoporosis, making bisphosphonate prescriptions remarkably common.
The drug's popularity has also increased thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns from pharmaceutical companies, including a series of glowing endorsements from actress Sally Field (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvdkBW92nM4).
What did this new study determine?
A team of British researchers, whose work appears in this week's British Medical Journal (http://www.bmj.com/channels/research.dtl), followed around 90,000 people for eight years, comparing those diagnosed with esophageal cancer to five similar participants not suffering from the disease.
They concluded that risk of esophageal cancer doubled among those prescribed bisphosphonates for five or more years. Of course, that risk is still low: around 2 in 1,000 versus 1 in 1,000.
And bisphosphonates have already been linked to esophageal problems: Patients are advised to take their medication on an empty stomach, sitting upright, to avoid irritating the lining of the esophagus.
What else is known about bisphosphonate risks?
Not enough, according to the authors of this latest research.
"Bisphosphonates are being increasingly prescribed to prevent fractures, and what is lacking is reliable information on the benefits and risks of their use in the long term," said Dr. Jane Green (http://www.physorg.com/news202674130.html), an Oxford University clinical epidemiologist and the study's lead author. "Our findings are part of a wider picture."
Questions persist as to whether the drugs, Fosamax in particular, actually increase one's risk of developing atypical femoral fractures, especially with prolonged use.
"Twenty years ago, we never saw this kind of fracture," Dr. Joseph Lane (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/health/la-he-closer-20100322/2) of New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, told the Los Angeles Times. "Maybe the drug forces you to get this kind of fracture instead of the more traditional ... fractures."
And the death of bone tissue in the jaw, known as osteonecrosis, has also been associated with bisphosphonates.
Still, many experts say that all three of the downsides -- cancer, bizarre bone breaks and osteonecrosis -- occur so rarely, they don't outweigh the benefits of bisphosphonates.
Bone-Building Bisphosphonates May Increase Risk of Esophageal Cancer
(Sept. 3) -- They help boost bone strength, but a class of drugs known as oral bisphosphonates also appear to increase one's risk of developing esophageal cancer.
And while that's the study conclusion making headlines this week, it's not the first research to suggest significant downsides to the medications -- especially with long-term use.
What are bisphosphonates, and who takes them?
Sold under names like Fosamax and Boniva, the drugs are mostly aimed at combating age-related bone loss, known as osteoporosis.
They work by preventing the latter portion of bone metabolism, an ongoing process of bone creation and digestion, from progressing. And the drugs are certainly effective, usually curbing risk of bone fractures by 30 to 50 percent.
More than 10 million Americans are estimated to suffer from osteoporosis, making bisphosphonate prescriptions remarkably common.
The drug's popularity has also increased thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns from pharmaceutical companies, including a series of glowing endorsements from actress Sally Field (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvdkBW92nM4).
What did this new study determine?
A team of British researchers, whose work appears in this week's British Medical Journal (http://www.bmj.com/channels/research.dtl), followed around 90,000 people for eight years, comparing those diagnosed with esophageal cancer to five similar participants not suffering from the disease.
They concluded that risk of esophageal cancer doubled among those prescribed bisphosphonates for five or more years. Of course, that risk is still low: around 2 in 1,000 versus 1 in 1,000.
And bisphosphonates have already been linked to esophageal problems: Patients are advised to take their medication on an empty stomach, sitting upright, to avoid irritating the lining of the esophagus.
What else is known about bisphosphonate risks?
Not enough, according to the authors of this latest research.
"Bisphosphonates are being increasingly prescribed to prevent fractures, and what is lacking is reliable information on the benefits and risks of their use in the long term," said Dr. Jane Green (http://www.physorg.com/news202674130.html), an Oxford University clinical epidemiologist and the study's lead author. "Our findings are part of a wider picture."
Questions persist as to whether the drugs, Fosamax in particular, actually increase one's risk of developing atypical femoral fractures, especially with prolonged use.
"Twenty years ago, we never saw this kind of fracture," Dr. Joseph Lane (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/health/la-he-closer-20100322/2) of New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, told the Los Angeles Times. "Maybe the drug forces you to get this kind of fracture instead of the more traditional ... fractures."
And the death of bone tissue in the jaw, known as osteonecrosis, has also been associated with bisphosphonates.
Still, many experts say that all three of the downsides -- cancer, bizarre bone breaks and osteonecrosis -- occur so rarely, they don't outweigh the benefits of bisphosphonates.