Junk Science? Number 40: New Blockbuster Diabetes Drugs may well increase cancer risk, according to Dr Mercola
New Blockbuster Diabetes Drugs may well increase cancer risk, according to Dr Mercola
Several studies of the newest blockbuster drug for diabetes, Januvia, have implicated these very common drugs to cause a number of different cancers. They will likely be removed from the market but perhaps not until they’ve killed many.
There simply is no reason these dangerous drugs should ever be used as they fail to treat the cause of the disease. Anyone on them now ideally should stop taking them and follow a healthy eating plan, which will radically improve, if not completely resolve, their diabetes.
Acknowledged side effects of Januvia and Janumet, include anaphylaxis and acute pancreatitis—both of which can be lethal. Anaphylaxis is in fact such a grave hazard with this drug that it actually carries a black box warning for lactic acidosis: “If acidosis is suspected, discontinue Janumet and hospitalize the patient immediately.”
This new class of drugs inhibits the enzyme DPP-4 which also happens to be a tumor suppressor. Studies have shown that when you suppress DPP-4 (which is precisely what these drugs do), cancer cells are allowed to proliferate. According to Januvia’s drug information, the drug inhibits the DPP-4 enzyme for 24 hours, and you take it daily, effectively permanently blocking the activity of a tumor suppressor gene.
None of the safety studies on Januvia addressed its impact on tumor growth prior to approval.
Januvia is now the number one best-selling drug in the oral diabetes market. Should such a blockbuster drug be proven to be connected to cancer, it’s a HUGE loss not only to Merck, but several other major pharmaceutical companies that have developed similar drugs. Drug companies like Merck could make MASSIVE amounts of money from these clearly dangerous drugs while cancer slowly and quietly grows in patients taking them.
For the full story: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/20/dpp4-inhibitors.aspx?e_cid=20121220_DNL_art_1
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=2878
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=594
