UPDATE: Bisphosphonates double risk of esophageal cancer

According to a new study, headed by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit, people who took oral bisphosphonates for bone disease over a five-year period were twice as likely to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer or cancer of the gullet. Bisphosphonates are commonly used to either treat or prevent osteoporosis and other bone conditions and are taken by hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.

The research involved 2,000 patients with stomach cancer, 3,000 patients with esophageal cancer and 10,600 patients with colorectal cancer all diagnosed between 1995 – 2005. Each cancer case was compared with five people without cancer matched for age and sex.

Their findings suggest that two cases of esophageal cancer may be expected among 1,000 long-term bisphosphonate users over five years, compared to one case in five years among 1,000 non-users. Researchers did not find any link between the drugs and stomach or bowel cancer.

Although earlier studies has not found the same link between osteoporosis drugs and cancer, this most recent study tracked patients for long periods of time, suggesting that long-term use of the medications may be linked to cancer development.

the research team noted that although their findings were concerning, still they do not prompt doctors or patients to immediately change their practice on bisphosphonates.

In the United States., the FDA has received reports of a few dozen individuals getting esophageal cancer after taking osteoporosis pills, but there is no proof the drugs caused the cancers.