Pioglitazone was associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer than other diabetes drugs in a large population-based cohort study. Researchers looked at about 146,000 patients in the U.K. who had recently started taking an anti-diabetic drug; those on pioglitazone faced an increased risk of bladder cancer of 121.0 versus 88.9 per 100,000 person-years among those on other diabetes drugs (hazard ratio 1.63, 95% CI 1.22-2.19). Fifty-four patients receiving pioglitazone were diagnosed with cancer after a mean follow-up of 4.7 years.
But those on Rosiglitazone didn't see an increased risk of bladder cancer (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.83-1.47), according to lead author at a General Hospital in Montreal, Canada, suggesting that the increased risk was not a class effect. The lead author and colleagues published their findings in The BMJ. The latest results support findings from a 2005 trial that found…
