The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned, in June 2011, that taking Actos for a year could increase a diabetes patient's chances of developing bladder cancer by 40 percent. A new study, conducted by Canadian researchers and recently published in BMJ - formerly the British Medical Journal - showed an even higher risk of developing bladder cancer after taking Actos, finding that the risk of developing bladder cancer increased up to 83 percent after taking the defective diabetes drug.

Researchers tracked 115,000 patients between 1988 and 2009 who took some form of diabetes drug. They found that those who took Actos for more than two years and those who had taken more than 28,000 milligrams of Actos were at an even higher risk of developing bladder cancer. The heightened risk of bladder cancer was connected only to patients taking Actos, or pioglitazone, and not to Avandia.

Actos and Avandia have also been linked to an increased rate of cardiovascular disease. Both drugs are thiazolidinediones and have been shown to successfully reduce insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes patients.

Two French doctors questioned the continued use of Actos for diabetes patients given the study data noting the heightened cancer risk. The risk of serious and fatal side effects of Actos use may weigh in favor of prescribing alternate medication.

In the United States alone, some estimate that Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Actos, could face up to 10,000 defective drug lawsuits from those who took Actos and suffered serious, even fatal side effects, or their surviving family members.

Source: LA Times, "Study: Diabetes drug Actos doubles the risk of bladder cancer," Thomas H. Maugh II, June 1, 2012