Taking bone-strengthening pills called bisphosphonates for years is believed to increase the chances of contracting esophageal cancer, a new study published in the British Medical Journal has concluded. The new research culled its data from the same database used in another research which reported just last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association that there is no link between bisphosphonates and throat cancer.

The new research tracked for almost 8 years 3,000 people with esophageal cancer and a non-diseased comparison group of 15,000. Ninety of the cancer patients and 345 of the control group took for more than five years bone-building pills that are normally prescribed to combat osteoporosis in menopause women. The research found that for people aged 60-79, the risk of getting throat cancer doubles for bisphosphonates takers, from 1 in 1,000 to 2 in 1,000.

Picture Credit: Rakka

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