RLG Learns of Yet Another Study Suggesting Link Between Type 2 Diabetes Drug Actos and Bladder Cancer

The Rottenstein Law Group is publicizing yet another study suggesting that Actos might cause bladder cancer.

At the University of Alberta School of Public Health, analysis of previously completed studies showed that Actos (generic name: pioglitazone) raised the risk of bladder cancer by 22%. These findings were published in the July 3, 2012, edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), according to an article published on Newsday.com that same day.

The findings published in the CMAJ were based on researchers’ analysis of data from previous studies involving 2.6 million people with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed drugs from the class known as thiazolidinediones, of which Actos is a member, according to Newsday.com. From that group, 3,643 people were newly diagnosed with bladder cancer, Newsday.com reported.

The study’s authors believe the increased risk for bladder cancer is associated with the ability of drugs like Actos to affect the body’s production of insulin, which cancer cells can use to grow and multiply, according to Newsday.com. The study’s senior author, Jeffrey A. Johnson, the Canada Research Chair in Diabetes Health Outcomes at the University of Alberta School of Public Health, “suspects the link between Actos and bladder cancer would have to be the result of a direct effect of the medication,” the Newsday.com article states.
The Rottenstein Law Group advises anyone who has suffered adverse side effects from taking Actos or any other medication to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.