In my earlier post i had posted a article from www.drugwatch.com recommending that pioglitazone should be banned. After this i made a extensive internet search to see what is thecurrent position of pioglitazone in india. I have to agree that there are very few studies done to see association of pioglitazone with bladder cancer. in the studies done also the association has been very negligible. Hence i personally feel that Pioglitazone should be used and patients on glitazones can be regularly screened for development of carcinomas. Pioglitazone has proved to be a boon for Diabetic patients in many ways so lets wait for more Asian and Indian trials to come out.
I have posted a few lines from one article regarding Pioglitazone
Currently, the U.S. FDA recommendations are mainly restricted to patients of bladder cancer. FDA recommends that healthcare professionals should not use pioglitazone in patients with active bladder cancer and use pioglitazone with caution in patients with a prior history of bladder cancer.
The U.S. FDA has announced that it will continue to evaluate data from the ongoing 10-year epidemiological study and conduct a comprehensive review of the results from the French study as well.
Clearly more studies are needed, probably focused on the Indian population. It is also important that physicians recognize the early signs and symptoms of cancer including bladder cancer.
At the same time, it is important to recognize the benefits of pioglitazone and use it judiciously in appropriate patients who would benefit from the use of this drug.
Reference - Pioglitazone indian perspective , rishi shukla et al, indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 2011(15) : 4 pg -294-297
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