Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
London, Sep 7, (THAINDIAN NEWS) A study carried out by scientists in Britain makes the startling revelations that the large number of women who have been taking bone strengthening drugs might have a higher risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus. The findings of the research which was recently published in the journal British Journal of Medicine pointed out that people who were administered with bisphosphonate drugs or osteoporosis drugs were much more prone to esophageal cancer compared to people who did not take the bone-strengthening medications.

The research was undertaken by the cancer epidemiology unit of the University of Oxford in collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which took a closer look into the usage of the oral bisphosphonates and three forms of cancer. Following the study which took into account around 3000 people with esophageal cancer, the researchers reached the conclusion that patients who took the bone-strengthening drugs for about five years on average, the risk of developing cancer was more than double in comparison to those who never took the drugs. Moreover, the scientists also observed 10,000 people with bowel cancer as well as 2,000 with stomach cancer but did not find any link between the drugs and these forms of cancer.

In the meanwhile, the researchers have also made it clear that the study was an observational kind and not the kind of research which might indicate whether the bone-strengthening drugs actually caused cancer. While reacting to the findings of the study, clinical epidemiologist Jane Green who is associated with the University of Oxford revealed that esophageal cancer is quite rare and even the doubled risk meant small amount of risk but cautioned that the drugs need to be closely watched.