Quoted from http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/26/study-sanofis-lantus-insulin-has-possible-cancer-link
Study: Sanofi’s Lantus Insulin Has Possible Cancer Link
By Shirley S. Wang
New data published today suggest that there is a “possible link” between French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis’s Lantus insulin for diabetes and a higher risk of cancer, according to Diabetologia, the journal in which the data were published.
The European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which publishes the journal, also made an “urgent call for more research” studying Lantus and cancer. It said the concern was specific to artificial insulin like Lantus, not human insulin, and urged patients not to stop taking their insulin but to consult their doctor if concerned.
Of the four studies published, the one that first prompted concern was conducted on 127,000 insulin-treated patients from a German insurance database. Researchers found that one additional person out of every 100 who used Lantus for an average of 1 1/2 years compared with human insulin was found to have cancer compared with those using human insulin. The higher the dose of Lantus used, the greater the risk of cancer, they said.
But results from three other studies, conducted in Sweden, Scotland and the U.K., were mixed. One also found a positive link while the other two showed no statistically significant link.