Diabetes patients in Alabama may be interested to know that the Food and Drug Administration is warning patients who are taking the drug Actos that it may put them at increased risk of bladder cancer. Governments in other countries have warned about the link between Actos and bladder cancer, and Germany has gone so far as to prevent new users of the drug. The possibly defective drug has already sparked numerous lawsuits against its manufacturer from patients who developed cancer after using it.

The FDA's warning came after analyzing a 10-year study at its halfway point. The study is ongoing, but the findings so far are apparently clear enough to warrant the federal agency's action.

The effects of bladder cancer can be severe. One attorney referred to a client of his who for several years was prescribed Actos to treat his type 2 diabetes. After developing blood in his urine and urinary tract infections, the man went to his doctor, who discovered malignant tumors in his bladder. The growths required a urinary diversion surgery. As a result, the man, who has no family history of bladder cancer, must wear an exterior ostomy pouch to collect his urine. He also suffers from frequent urinary tract infections and sexual dysfunction, the attorney said.

Actos is manufactured by the Japanese company Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The drug is one of their biggest sellers. For a long time, doctors in Alabama and across the U.S. prescribed it as an alternative to Avandia, another diabetes drug that was restricted by the FDA after it was found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Source: St. Louis American, "Diabetes patients at risk of bladder cancer," Sandra Jordan, Jan. 19, 2012