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Bone drugs may raise risk of throat cancer
Posted: Sep 3, 2010 7:15 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Sep 3, 2010 7:17 AM
A new study suggests that people who take bone-strengthening drugs for several years may have a slightly higher risk of throat cancer.
The findings contradict another recent study that used the same database of 80,000 patients. It concluded that there was no link between drugs to prevent or treat osteoporosis and cancer of the esophagus. That study was published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the new study, British researchers looked at nearly 3,000 people with esophageal cancer and matched each one to five similar people who didn't have the disease. Ninety of the cancer patients and 345 people in the comparison group had been taking drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva and other brands.
Normally, the risk of developing throat cancer in people 60 to 79 years old is 1 in 1,000. Researchers say after using the drugs for about five years, the risk is 2 in 1,000.
The study is in Friday's issue of the medical journal, BMJ.
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