France Suspends Use of Pioglitazone Based on 'Slight' Risk for Bladder Cancer

The antidiabetes drug pioglitazone (marketed in the U.S. as Actos) is to be taken off the market in France because of concerns over a "slightly increased risk" for bladder cancer, Bloomberg reports.
In its announcement, the French drug agency AFSSAPS said that a French cohort of some 155,000 patients with diabetes who were exposed to pioglitazone, when compared with a nonexposed diabetic cohort, showed a statistically significant association between exposure to the drug and the incidence of bladder cancer.
In September 2010 the FDA said it was following a 10-year epidemiological study of the association. Interim results showed an increased risk among patients with the longest exposures and the highest cumulative doses of Actos.