Update on review of Lantus and Cancer

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ocat

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is updating the public about its ongoing safety review of Lantus (insulin glargine) and a possible increased risk of cancer [seen in some human studies]:
http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/New ... ongoing-s/

If shown to be true, the risk in feline diabetics would remain unknown. As there is no feline insulin available, all insulins for treatment of feline diabetes carry some potential risk. High circulating levels of insulin are associated with cancer in humans, and (not surprisingly) high-carbohydrate diets are linked with cancer.

There are more questions than answers...
-Craig
 
There are always more questions than answers. Medical studies that are retrospective or observational in nature are often flawed and retracted. As a scientist, I was appalled when I first starting reading papers in the medical literature as so many of them are poorly designed and conducted. Many, many papers presenting evidence for something have been later retracted as being total hokum. Two prominent examples: A widely accepted study in the 80's that said coffee caused pancreatic cancer and a recent paper that "proved" that vaccinations are associated with a high incidence of autism in children.

Here is the current status of the FDA about the possibility of lantus being associated with cancer:

At this time, FDA has not concluded that Lantus increases the risk of cancer. Our review is ongoing, including review of information from a current
clinical trial, and the Agency will update the public when it has additional information.

* Healthcare professionals should continue to follow the recommendations in the drug label when prescribing Lantus.
* Patients should continue taking Lantus unless told otherwise by their healthcare professional.
* Patients who have concerns about using Lantus should talk to their healthcare professional.

This communication is in keeping with FDA's commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety review of drugs.

Additional Information for Patients

* Do not stop taking your Lantus unless told to do so by your healthcare professional.
* FDA has not concluded that Lantus increases the risk of cancer. The Agency is continuing to review this safety concern and will update the public when additional information is available.
* Talk to your healthcare professional if you have concerns about Lantus.
* Report any side effects from the use of Lantus to the FDA MedWatch program
 
ocat said:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is updating the public about its ongoing safety review of Lantus (insulin glargine) and a possible increased risk of cancer [seen in some human studies]:
http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/New ... ongoing-s/

If shown to be true, the risk in feline diabetics would remain unknown. As there is no feline insulin available, all insulins for treatment of feline diabetes carry some potential risk. High circulating levels of insulin are associated with cancer in humans, and (not surprisingly) high-carbohydrate diets are linked with cancer.

There are more questions than answers...
-Craig
Click to expand...

Now this kind of scares me considering we are about to switch over to Lantus from Humulin N! Should I or should I not be worried?
 
something similar circled these parts a couple years ago and so far, no new research shows it causing cancer in kitties as far as i know. i figure i've already lost two cats to cancer and neither was ever diabetic so like us, cancer is luck of the draw if you ask me. :-(
 
Hi,
I wouldn't worry -- firstly, it hasn't been established that Lantus users are at a greater risk of developing cancer -- the studies that found a possible link weren't designed to test for a possible link.

More importantly, the idea of using Lantus is to get your cat off insulin altogether -- which is almost certainly better for your cat they staying on Humulin N for the rest of his life. Even if it turns out there is a higher risk of cancer for humans using Lantus, the risk for cats is unknown -- one issue for humans is whether insulin analogues (like Lantus) which are not human insulin are potential health risks. If this holds generally, then cats are at a potential heath risk from all insulins because none of them are feline insulin (although the argument is too general for my liking). Some vets think PZI is the best for cats because the insulin is more similar to feline insulin -- it's hard to argue against this.

It's impossible to draw any conclusions except that the involvement of insulin (whether injected or produced by the pancreas) in cancer is highly likely. Ultra-low carb diets reduce high circulating insulin levels that are associated with cancer in humans.

The implications of the link between cancer and high circulating levels of insulin in humans is that most of our cats were exposed to high circulating levels of insulin for the decade they were on high carb diets and this almost certainly contributed to their diabetes; it may have significantly increased their chances of getting cancer, if the human research is anything to go by. I doubt 6 months on Lantus will significantly change the overall risk.

But that said, who knows: we need to be collecting more data on the cats here so informed decisions can be made, not guesses.

Anyway, Ocat's staying on Lantus and an ultra-low carb diet.
-Craig
 
I am not really worried. Remember, most cats start getting insulin late in their lives and sad fully, they do not live that many more years even if they were not diabetic. Humans, on the other hand, can live 50 years os so after starting insulin.
 
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