Reading, Writing and Ritalin and Cancer Risk.

[Guest guest]

http://www.preventcancer.com/press/april10,01.htm

 

" Reading, Writing and Ritalin " TV Program Overlooks Evidence on Cancer Risks in

Children

Chicago, 4/10/01. Bill Kurtis is to be warmly commended for his Arts &

Entertainment (A & E) balanced and informative 4/9/01 TV program on the abuse

and misuse of Ritalin for the treatment of children with " Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorders " (ADHD). As Kurtis noted, the U.S. uses some 90% of the

world's supply of Ritalin, now overprescribed to up to 6% of elementary and

pre-teen school children for a " grab bag " of behavioral disorders. However, no

mention was made of the substantive evidence on the drug's cancer risks of which

parents, teachers and school nurses still remain uninformed and unaware.

Some 40 years after the drug had been marketed by Ciba Geigy, carcinogenicity

tests were conducted by the National Toxicology Program, at the taxpayers

expense, the results of which became available in 1993. Adult mice were fed with

the drug over a two-year period at dosages close to those prescribed to

children. The mice developed a statistically significant incidence of liver

abnormalities, liver tumors and very rare highly aggressive cancers known as

hepatoblastomas. These findings are all the more disturbing as the tests were

conducted on adult, rather than young mice which would be expected to be much

more sensitive to carcinogenic effects. The National Toxicology Program

concluded that Ritalin is a " possible human carcinogen " , and recommended the

need for further research.

The Food and Drug Administration's minimal response to this alarming information

was to send a " Dear Doctors " letter warning of " a weak signal of carcinogenic

potential " , coupled with assurances, in which industry joined, that the drug was

safe. At the same time, the FDA also promised to initiate follow-up animal tests

and human studies, although these have yet to be undertaken. The current

Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) manual admits the evidence on the

carcinogenicity of Ritalin, now manufactured by Novartis, qualified by the

statement that " the significance of these results is unknown " , apparently not

recognizing that this is more alarming than reassuring. Apart from cancer risks,

the drug has also been shown to induce genetic damage in human cells in test

tube studies, and also in preliminary studies on treated children.

Concerns on cancer risks from Ritalin are all the more acute in view of the

escalating incidence of childhood cancer, by over 30% over the last few decades,

quite apart from delayed risks of cancer in adult life.

The use of Ritalin should be sharply restricted and then only prescribed by

highly- qualified psychiatric specialists, and also only after the parents have

been explicitly informed of the drug's cancer risks. There is a strong body of

expert opinion that the majority of " ADHD " children can be safely and

effectively treated, although at greater expense, by procedures including

behavior modification and biofeedback.

CONTACT: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., emeritus professor of environmental and

occupational Medicine, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago,

and Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition; phone 312-996-2297; fax 312-996-1374;

email epstein

 

 

 

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