Drugs known as tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, blockers, such as Remicade [infliximab] and Humira [adalimumab], will have a new cancer related warning on them, following a FDA review of the drug lasting more than a year. In the investigation of several dozen children taking the drug it was found that half the cancer cases were lymphomas and that the risk increased after 2 1/2 years of using the drug. The FDA has been investigating the drugs" links with cancer for more than 10 years but more recently through the Obama administration"s healthcare reform the Department of Health and Human Services was advised to compare the effectiveness of the arthritis treatments. Although safety labeling on TNF blockers included a warning for malignancies the FDA is also requiring an update to the warning section of the prescribing information describing reported cases of leukemia in adults, adolescents, and children, as well as additional information on malignancies in children and adolescents. The FDA admits it cannot be definitely sure that TNF blockers cause all the reports of cancer because the patients with the immune diseases take other immune-suppressing drugs as well.
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