Cancer researchers from the City of Hope National Medical Center announced a possible link between Paxil and breast cancer.
Research focused on Paxil’s estrogen effect
Researchers found that Paxil has a weak estrogen effect that could increase women’s breast cancer risks.
According to lead author and chairman of City of Hope’s Department of Cancer and Biology, Siuan Chen, Ph.D., approximately 70 percent of breast cancers are sensitive to estrogen and exposure to estrogen disrupting compounds especially during the critical periods of pregnancy, childhood and adolescence.
Paxil and Birth Defects
Approved in 1992, Paxil has become one of the most prescribed drugs in the United States, but studies showed that the drug could increase the risk of birth defects in the first three months of pregnancy and as a result in December 2005, the FDA issued an alert in the United States about the risk of birth defects from Paxil.
GlaxoSmithKline is facing hundreds of Paxil lawsuits, which were brought of behalf of children who suffered various birth defect and other health problems. The complaints allege that Glaxo hid test results that would have revealed the risks associated with use of Paxil during pregnancy and misled doctors.