Since some drugs that contain carcinogens represent a common external factor that can lead to the development of cancer, patients need to be on guard when it comes to them. Cancer appears when abnormal cells in the body start replicating at a rate way beyond the body’s control.
The medical complication can easily occur in any part of the body, especially where cell division takes place. After some time, the problem can easily spread to other areas. Some people are way more prone to cancer than others.
Some of the main risk factors generally include genetics and external environmental factors. The main consequences of such drug injuries are quite devastating. In fact, one of the most common external factors that could lead to cancer is prescription drugs, as ironic as it sounds.
Scientists are still researching to establish how drugs might provoke cancer. Drugs that generally cause it are divided into three major categories: immunosuppressive therapy, hormone therapy, and diabetes medications.
Common cancer-causing drugs
Theoretically, you take a bunch of medications to prevent or even alleviate the symptoms of different complications. However, some drugs could potentially increase the risk of getting it. Here are some of the most common drugs that could increase the chances of getting the disease.
Fluoxetine and paroxetine
These two drugs are known to be made of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Some studies even linked the medications to testicular cancer. For the former, scientists gathered 14 cases of cancer with a relative risk of 2.51 after 10 months of use.
On the other hand, they also observed 11 cases and a relative risk of 2.44 within the same period of time. Between the users of both these drugs, researchers only managed to identify three cases of overlap.
Scientists also evaluated different types of antidepressants in laboratory experiments and epidemiological studies, but have registered mixed results. Some of them have recommended plenty of prevention methods.
In humans, researchers also focused on breast cancer and couldn’t find any relationship between them. The scientists also have zero human data regarding the impact of the two drugs on testicular cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, there are bound to be over 9,610 new testicular cancer cases by the end of the year.
Zantac
This is hands-down one of the most popular heartburn medications in America. Medical experts from the Food and Drug Administration declared that the drug presents certain impurities that could potentially increase the risk of getting cancer.
The announcement was made right after one of the local pharmaceutical firms decided to alert the Federal body that it had identified NDMA in the heartburn drugs. The regulatory body also revealed that it has been investigating the use of carcinogens in heart failure and blood pressure medications since 2018.
Furthermore, it has been evaluated whether low levels can increase the risk of getting the disease among the users. But it also advised patients to keep using the drug unless instructed by their healthcare providers to tell them to stop.
The FDA also noted that NDMA is harmful when taken in large quantities and was still evaluating the level of carcinogens in such medications. According to a bunch of researchers, all kinds of Zantac that were investigated were deemed to be unstable and should be recalled as soon as possible.
Losartan and Valsartan
Some types of blood pressure drugs have been recalled after scientists realized they contain NDMA. It was also established that these two were filled with carcinogens. The Food and Drug Administration recalled Losartan back in 2019.
According to Federal health experts, the drug had unacceptable levels of NMBA. The announcement came after a series of other blood pressure medications, after continuous proof that it contained the carcinogen.
The agency stated that it had identified traces of the carcinogen in Valsartan after being in the market for no less than four years. The FDA also estimates that there might be one more case above the average rate for every 8,000 people on the highest dose of the drug.
Proton pump inhibitors
The medications are generally used to treat heartburn and acid reflux and are also some of the most popular in the country. Some researchers discovered that PPIs can increase the risk of developing stomach cancer by up to 250% after prolonged use.
The drugs involve suppressing acid production in the stomach. Before you decide to take any drug, you should discuss with your doctor any possible negative effects, including the possibility that it might cause cancer.
It’s important to note that drug manufacturers aren’t intentionally putting carcinogenic chemicals in these products. In fact, they can sometimes form due to chemical reactions in the manufacturing process.
The FDA wants to tamp down on these situations. Along with publishing the list, the agency also decided to set limits on the amount of dangerous substances each drug possesses. Those limits are, of course, designed to significantly lessen the risk of taking such drugs.
As someone who suffers from migraines, I have a series of prescriptions for three drugs from this list. Two of them have the potential to form nitrosamines that the FDA deems as the most potent. Well, each of those drugs contains up to 26.5 nanograms of harmful chemicals in a daily dose. It’s not quite a comforting feeling.
The limits that were set by the FDA also imply that the amount of nitrosamine in any drug can’t exceed a 1 in 100,000 cancer risk for people who ingest the chemicals on a regular basis over a lifetime. However, we can’t 100% tell whether these specific drugs for migraines contain zero nitrosamines or just fall below the list.
The FDA’s list only highlights the potential for these drugs to reach a certain limit. In the meantime, it’s close to impossible to live with migraines. For some, the risk is needed.
This is an issue the FDA and other drug industries have been trying to grapple with since 2018, when blood pressure pills known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, such as valsartan and irbesartan, were discovered to contain a nitrosamine onc used in rocket fuel called NDMA.
As pharmaceutical companies and the FDA dug into this, it became quite apparent that some drugs weren’t made with known nitrosamines such as NDMA, but a bunch of different types of nitrosamines never seen before, that the agency deemed as “nitrosamine drug substance-related impurities.”
It’s, in fact, a clunky phrase, which the agency shortens to NDSRIs, to prove the chemical reaction that in the end forms the harmful chemical. Two of the biggest drugs that have NDSRIs are Pfizer’s Chantix, used to help people stop smoking, and Merck’s Januvia for diabetes.
As soon as drugs start showing up with NDMA in them, the FDA asks drugmakers to make sure their product doesn’t have nitrosamines too. The FDA also noted in its guidance earlier this month that it has learned that some drugmakers have been checking their drugs for known nitrosamines, such as NDMA, but not for newer NDSRIs.
The agency also stated that these companies that haven’t done so need to assess their products for NDSRIs by the end of the year.
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