Risk of Cancer from Lantus Highlighted in New Study

Italian researchers have released a new study that again raises questions about a possible link between the side effects of the diabetes drug Lantus and cancer. 

Research published in the most recent issue of the medical journal Diabetes Care, which looked at data from 1,340 diabetics treated with insulin over the course of six years, suggests a possible association between cancer and Lantus use at high doses.

The study comes about a year after the FDA announced that it was conducting a review of possible Lantos cancer side effects after four previous studies published in the medical journal Diabetologia suggested that there needs to be more research into the risk of cancer from Lantus. However, the agency has expressed doubts about whether a connection between the use of Lantus and cancer truly exists.

Lantus (insulin glargine) is a once-a-day injection that slowly releases insulin into the blood over time. Manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, it has the second largest share of the diabetic drug treatment market and brought in $3.45 billion in worldwide sales last year. The drug was approved by FDA for diabetes treatment in 2000.

The studies referenced by the FDA involved analysis of German and Swedish insurance databases, looking at the incidence of cancer among diabetics using Lantus insulin. The study data suggested that low doses of Lantus may increase the risk of cancer 9% and high doses may increase the risk 31%. However, similar databases in Scotland and the U.K. showed no significant cancer risk increases, and the editors of the journal and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes cautioned that the results are inconclusive.

Sanofi officials have said that the previous studies were inconclusive, and said that the most recent study was too small to use as a basis for reilable conclusions.