Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Study: No proof of Vytorin link to cancer
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 02 - 09 - 2008


New research into a possible link
between a cholesterol-reducing drug and cancer concluded
there was no proof to establish a connection, but other
doctors warned that it should be used more carefully, reported ap.
In a paper published Tuesday by the New England Journal of
Medicine, Terje Pedersen and colleagues found that cancer
occurred more frequently in patients taking Vytorin, a
combination of Merck's Zocor and Schering-Plough's Zetia,
than in people on a placebo pill. But that study was too
small to stand as proof of a real link.
In a larger analysis of data considering the possible link
between Vytorin and cancer, also published in the New
England Journal of Medicine, epidemiologists said there was
no evidence implicating Vytorin, which millions of people
take worldwide.
The two papers were also presented at a meeting of the
European Society of Cardiology in Munich.
But not all doctors were convinced that Vytorin is
risk-free.
«I think the jury is still out as to whether there's a
cancer signal,» said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of
cardiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and spokesman for the
American Heart Association. Tomaselli was not connected to
the research.
The trial's preliminary results were announced ahead of
schedule in July, when investigators discovered a higher
incidence of cancer in patients on Vytorin.
At that point, Sir Richard Peto, a cancer epidemiologist,
rushed to crunch numbers from Pedersen's study with two
bigger Vytorin studies to see if the drug might be linked
to cancer.
«I don't think there is any evidence of hazard here,»
Peto said. Peto's group at Oxford University is carrying
out another trial on Vytorin funded by Merck & Co. and
Schering-Plough Corp. They found that there was a lower
incidence of cancer among people on Vytorin, but that the
death rate was higher.
Pedersen's original trial aimed to determine whether
Vytorin might help prevent problems with the heart valve.
Vytorin lowers cholesterol, which doctors thought might
also help reduce the risk of heart valve problems, which
affect millions of people worldwide.
Problems occur when the valve becomes blocked or stiff,
compromising its ability to pump oxygen-rich blood
throughout the body.
In the trial, Vytorin was no better at reducing the risk
of heart problems than were the fake pills people took.
They followed 1,873 patients in Europe and the United
States. Patients were either given Vytorin or a placebo. Of
patients on Vytorin, 105 developed cancer, compared with 70
among those on placebo.
Some doctors suggested that the hypothesis behind the
trial was mistaken, and that heart valve problems can only
be solved with surgery, not with medication.
But they said the drug is still useful for people who need
their cholesterol lowered _ if other drugs do not work.
«If I was on this medication and it was the only way to
get my cholesterol down, I would not change my therapy
based on this,» said Dr. Douglas Weaver, president of the
American College of Cardiology. The College has been asked
by the U.S. Senate to account for the money it accepts from
pharmaceutical companies, including Merck.
The New England Journal of Medicine editors had a staff
statistician look at combined cancer deaths from all three
Vytorin studies. They say the extra risk «should not be
assumed to be a chance finding» until more information is
in. Doctors and patients now are left with «uncertainty»
about the safety and effectiveness of the drug, the
journal's editors concluded.
With other options available for heart patients, some
doctors said there was no obvious reason to take Vytorin.
«There's no proof that this combination is working,» said
Dr. Christer Hoglund, a cardiologist at Sweden's Karolinska
Institute.
«We don't know that this drug is bad, but we don't know
that it's any good either.»


Clic here to read the story from its source.