FDA Says No Link Between Popular Antihypertensive Drugs and Cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration has revealed that it has not found any evidence that some of the popularly used blood pressure drugs can increase the risk of cancer. The conclusion was part of an year-long study by the FDA, initiated after a study was published in the Lancet last year showing that those who took blood pressure drugs known as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) were at an increased risk of developing cancer.

Some of the popular ARB drugs, such as Novartis's Diovan, Merck's Cozaar and Sanofi’s Avapro, are used to treat blood pressure and other heart diseases. The FDA revealed that it had carried out an extensive review involving more than 155,000 patients and found no link between ARBs and cancer.

“The FDA has completed its review of controlled trial data on more than 155,000 patients randomized to ARBs or other treatments - the largest evaluation of such data to date - and finds no evidence of an increased risk of cancer in patients who take an ARB”, the deputy director for safety in the FDA's Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs, Mary Ross Southworth said.

Source-Medindia