Protopic and Elidel: Eczema Drugs Have a Cancer Risk

Early this year, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about two prescription topical creams for the common skin disease, eczema. Both Elidel and Protopic must now include written material for professionals and patients that warns of a cancer risk based on “information from animal studies, case reports in a small number of patients, and knowledge of how drugs in this class work.”

Though the warning says, “a small number” of people who have used the products “have had cancer (for example, skin or lymphoma),” evidence from the FDA’s own reporting system indicates that this may be an understatement. Pretty alarming for drugs that are applied to the skin, primarily for young children. Doubly so, considering the fact that less than 10% of all serious adverse drug reactions are reported to the FDA.