Actos being linked to Bladder Cancer risk

Actos the drug to treat Diabetes is being linked to Bladder Cancer of late. It has been linked to many severe side effects since its production started. It was also said to cause bladder cancer. Actos was liked with liver problems, broken bones and diabetic eye disease since long. But many of recent studies have revealed that it is also related to onset of bladder cancer in diabetic patients using this drug.

These studies after reviewing long-term use of Actos and its side effects concluded that use of this drug could increase risk of developing bladder cancer by around 40% if has been used for more than a year. This led to suspension of Actos in many European countries due to its fatal side effects.

The claim regarding Actos being linked to bladder cancer got boost after U.S. Food and Drug Administration came with a similar announcement. This announcement came on 15th June 2011. FDA stated in its announcement that there may be connection between long term i.e. more than a year of Actos use and bladder cancer.

This announcement was a result of a review of a 10-year study. This study was related to Actos’s link with bladder cancer. It concluded patients, who used this drug for longer periods were at higher risk of developing bladder cancer.

A similar study was conducted in France. The 3-year study revealed the side effects of Actos. This resulted in a ban on this drug in the country. After reviewing French data, Germany also banned this drug. FDA also reviewed this study before going for the announcement related to link of Actos to bladder cancer.

The drug pioglitazone is marketed with the brand name Actos. It is manufactured by Takeda pharmaceutical. It is used for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. It is one of the most famous diabetic drug and around 2.3 million people used in only in ten month in 2010.

Actos was approved in 1999, and it was behind other diabetic drug Avandia in the market after its manufacturing started. But in 2007, Avandia was linked to heart attacks risks; Actos took the market with a storm. It continued till recently, when reports of its being linked to risk of bladder cancer started coming in.

The FDA announcement against Actos has paved way for numerous lawsuits related to side effects of Actos. Takeda pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of the drug, is going to be in troubled waters.

One such lawsuit has been filed by Robert Bettorf. According to the suit he started using this medicine in 2007 and developed bladder cancer after a year. It blamed manufacturer of failing to warn against risk of bladder cancer after prolonged use of this drug, even they were aware of this fact for long.

Symptoms of bladder cancer are blood in the urine, pain and burning during urination, strong urge to urinate or any urine infection which is not improving even after going for medicines. If a patient, who is using develops any of such symptoms, he should immediately seek medical help. If a laboratory tests find red blood cells in urine, an abnormality in the bladder wall is shown in X-rays, ultrasound, CT, or MRI scans for an unrelated problem shows a growth or biopsy shows any swelling in bladder, it could be bladder cancer. Immediately call your doctor.
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