Posted on 06/14/2010 5:05:41 PM PDT by Nachum
A new study said that a popular class of antihypertension drugs—including those made by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Merck & Co. and Novartis AG—is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancer.
The researchers cautioned that the limited data make it impossible to calculate the exact cancer risk for each individual drug in the class, but said the issue should be investigated further. The study was published online Sunday by the Lancet Oncology medical journal.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Can you give us some names, I don’t want to sign up.
They include blockbusters like Merck's Cozaar and Novartis's Diovan, but much of the data in the new analysis was from use of the drug telmisartan, sold under the brand Micardis by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Thank is all the article gave. But, I believe that they are saying the entire class of drugs may increase cancer risk. Now, as I do a google search, there apparently is another study that suggests it may inhibit cancer risk (the opposite).
FYI :o
Like the "Coffee is Bad" studies vs the "Coffee is Good studies of years past, we will see these studies go back and forth I'm afraid.
The truth will be fuzzy.
Uh oh! I take Diovan.
The good news is that there are studies that show it inhibits cancer. Not sure what to believe.
Lisinopril is an ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor.
The angiotensin receptor blockers are the next step down the metabolic pathway.
Thanks for that!
What about Cozaar?
If they were to be banned, I would be seriously . . . annoyed. I'll take a slight risk of cancer over certain kidney failure any day.
Cozaar is an angiotensin receptor blocker. Good drug.
Thanks for any information/opinion on Cozaar.
ping
My dr. took me off of Cozaar after I had an SVT (super ventricular tachycardia) episode last December. My heart was racing wildly for several days at 236 beats per minute. Normal is about 90.
Now I’m on a generic for Toprol (metoprolol) and everything is fine except that it does keep my BP almost too low. I’m not sure what the objection to Cozaar was but since it is a more expensive drug I was glad to switch to a cheaper generic.
atacand blood pressure medication - Google Search
and then scroll down to the bottom where there are links to the meds I see posted on this thread.
Thanks BossLady
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
Some diabetics are prescribed angiotensin-receptor blockers. "No statistically significant difference in cancer deaths was observed (1.8% vs 1.6%, RR 1.07, 0.97—1.18; p=0.183)."
Did the stoudy compare people with high BP who were on these drugs to those not on them or did they compare people on the drugs to the general poulation? If so, the study is BS. People with high BP tend to be in poorer physical health so we would expect higher cancer rates.
That's correct.
The angiotensin receptor blockers are the next step down the metabolic pathway.
That's not so. The angiotensin receptor blockers are the next step down in the pharmacologic interference of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone pathway. ACE inhibitors block the conversion of angiotensin I into angiotensin II, which is part of normal metabolism. Blocking the angiotensin II receptor isn't. That's just pharmacology.
You are exactly right. I should have written “Next step down the physiologic pathway...”
Obviously, I was attempting to simplify the concept in an attempt to make it more easily understandable by the layman.
I have found over the years that, except for a few very sophisticated patients, the subtlties of pharmacology and physiology (that we spend years to learn and understand) tend to obfuscate rather than clarify in usual clinical situations. Those sophisticated patients usually make their knowledge base known, and more accurate discussions ensue.
So, it is rarely necessary for me to enter into a discussion of concentration-dependent vs. concentration-independent antimicrobial agents, inhibitory quotients, and mutation rate of HIV when preparing a patient to begin a lifetime of antiretroviral medications. It is usually sufficient to explain that “you can’t ever miss a dose, or your drug levels will fall and the virus will become resistant.”
However, that discussion has indeed occurred when the patient has had a career in medical research or clinical medicine.
Thanks for keeping me honest.
A lot of times the ending of the name of the drug gives you a clue as to what class of drugs it is. I would imagine that any drug that ends with “sartan” or “artan” is an ARB.
It’s a guess, but I’ve usually found it to be true.
The problem is that we are all taking way too many drugs in a futile quest to achieve what the doctors have decreed to be the perfect number. Sometimes it takes years for the serious side effects of a drug to surface. Personally, I would not take any drug that has not been on the market for less than 10 years.
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