N Engl J Med. 2009;1360:89-90
There have been reports of esophageal cancer in patients who had been taking oral bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis. This has been reported by an official from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the January 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Twenty-three cases including 8 fatal reported in the United States, between October 1995 May 2008, all of them in association with alendronate. Fosamax, a popular band from Merck contains alendronate.
The drug was suspect drug in 21 cases and as a concomitant drug in 2 cases.
In Europe and Japan, 31 cases of esophageal cancer have been reported with alendronate as the suspected drug in 21 cases. Risedronate, ibandronate , etidronate were the suspected drugs in 6 and concomitant drug in another 4.
Esophagitis is a known complication oral bisphosphonates, usually when the drugs are not taken according to directions but esophageal cancer has not been reported before this.
A better picture would emerge after more data is accumulated.
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