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‘Diabetics need not panic over insulin drug’

NEW DELHI: Doctors in the Capital have given the green signal to the Sanofi-Aventis insulin drug Lantus, the use of which has come under question after a report about the drug being linked to a raised risk of cancer.

“Diabetics have started panicking after new studies of patients released recently suggested the Sanofi-Aventis insulin drug Lantus might raise the risk of cancer. Studies released in an international journal raised concerns about the drug, but the results were conflicting. Lantus is typically taken just once a day. It has been widely used since 2000,” said the Delhi Diabetics Research Centre head, Dr. A. K. Jhingan.

Asking people to consult their doctor before making any changes, Dr. Jhingan added: “The report affects a group of the Indian population which is dependent on this particular insulin for their diabetic treatment. India has been pronounced the diabetes capital of the world and an estimated 41 million people suffer from diabetes in India and the number is expected to rise to 79 million by 2030.” Stating that a solution to this confusion lies in periodical checks, Dr. Jhingan said: “We doctors are seeing patients undergoing a huge psychological trauma which this report has caused, but patients should not panic and discontinue this drug without their doctor’s approval.”

Senior endocrinologist at Apollo Hospital Dr. S. K. Wangnoo said: “We are still prescribing the drug and telling patients that there is no need to panic. We recommend a case-to-case look at the patients. A holistic point of view regarding the drug has to be taken to understand the benefits and disadvantage of the drug.”

“The research about the drug has had a very short follow-up period. We cannot recommend our entire treatment plan on this report which is not a final report in any sense,” he added.

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