Search Omemee Pigeon eFlyer
Custom Search

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Calcitonin Cancer Risk? Health Canada Studying Long Term Effects!

Calcitonin used to treat osteoporosis (loss of calcium in bones) in postmenopausal women in nasal spray ; and also available as an injection used to treat Paget's disease as well as severe hypercalcemia (high blood calcium). Paget's disease is a chronic condition that causes abnormal bone growth, while severe hypercalcemia is a medical emergency that can lead to, for example, kidney failure, heart problems and coma. A list of calcitonin products in Canada is provided below.

Health Canada is aware of new recommendations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to restrict calcitonin use due to evidence suggesting an increased risk of cancer. Specifically, the EMA has recommended that:

-calcitonin nasal sprays should no longer be prescribed for the treatment of osteoporosis
injectable calcitonin should be used to treat patients with Paget's disease only when other treatments have not worked or are not appropriate, and treatment should normally be limited to three months
- injectable calcitonin should only be used only for hypercalcemia caused by cancer.
Health Canada is currently reviewing all available information to determine appropriate action in Canada. No conclusions or recommendations have been made at this time with respect to calcitonin use in Canada. Health Canada will take the EMA's recommendations into consideration as part of its review. New safety information will be communicated to Canadian prescribers and patients as soon as possible, once the review is complete.

No reports of cancer associated with calcitonin use have been reported to Health Canada since the drug was first authorized in Canada nearly 30 years ago, in 1983.

Patients who are taking a calcitonin medicine who have questions should speak to their health care professional before they consider stopping their calcitonin treatment.  There are other medications authorized in Canada for the treatment of osteoporosis, Paget's disease and hypercalcemia.

How to report side effects to health products to Health Canada

To report suspected side effects to these or other health products, please contact Health Canada's Canada Vigilance Program toll-free at 1-866-234-2345, or visit MedEffect Canada for more information on how to report.

Connect With Us on Twitter Follow us through Networked Blogs

No comments:

Post a Comment

TERMS OF USE

Those who post comments are accountable for the opinions they express, and the accuracy of the information they furnish. While we encourage writers to utilize this service on our site, we also strongly suggest they treat it as public forum where good taste counts. We reserve the right to decline for approval objectionable material from this site.

Writers that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments - such as racist language, threats or comments unrelated to the story - will not be approved. Also, entries that are unsigned or signatures by someone other than the actual writer will not be approved.

While writers can still post anonymously, we strongly suggest that they do not do so.

Opinions, guidance and other information expressed in Omemee Pigeon eFlyer comments and by contributors to the Omemee Pigeon eFlyer, represent the individuals'; own views and are not necessarily those of the Omemee Pigeon eFlyer. The Omemee Pigeon eFlyer furnishes this type of forum and does not endorse and is not accountable for statements or advice from anyone other than an designated Omemee Pigeon eFlyer spokesperson.

F.A.Q.

(Frequently Asked Questions) Choose your favourite and send a letter to the editor. 1. Why isn't this paper being run on a "dot com"? 2. Who is running this paper? 3. Why do you have Google ads on here? 4. Where can I get a print copy of this paper? 5. How can I help make this paper even better? 6.I'd like to buy you a coffee.Where can I send a donation? Thanks! Every bit helps!
Omemee Pigeon advertise button

Who Reads Omemee Pigeon eFlyer?

You do! Most readers are from our direct area,but people the world over do read Omemee Pigeon eFlyer. We currently have over 2,000 accounts getting our headlines,and almost 100 daily email subscribers. Not bad for a little eZine just starting out. We are especially excited about the writers joining in this project!

Come Tweet Us!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger... Google+