US FDA says use of ARBs for hypertension does not increase risk of cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration stated yesterday that a group of drugs used to control high blood pressure - angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) - do not increase the risk of developing cancer in patients using the medications.

In July 2010, the FDA reported that a safety review of ARBs would be performed after a published study found a small increased risk of cancer in patients taking such products compared to people not taking an ARB. For this safety review, the FDA evaluated 31 randomized clinical trials, comparing patients taking an ARB to those not doing so, looking for the incidence of cancer.

“The FDA has completed its review of controlled trial data on more than 155,000 patients randomized to ARBs or other treatments - the largest evaluation of such data to date - and finds no evidence of an increased risk of cancer in patients who take an ARB,” said Mary Ross Southworth, deputy director for safety in the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.