Benzodiazepine and CLL

[Sillysand]

Has there been any studies or research that shows Benzodiazepine (Ativan)

to be the cause of CLL ?

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

There's no mention of an increased risk for blood, leukemia, or lymphoma cancer in this large Taiwanese study from 2015: Is Long-term Use of Benzodiazepine a Risk for Cancer? ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

That paper references a much older (1995) paper, Relation of benzodiazepine use to the risk of selected cancers: breast, large bowel, malignant melanoma, lung, endometrium, ovary, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, testis, Hodgkin's disease, thyroid, and liver (CLL is the most commonly diagnosed adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.) That paper pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/777... concluded "The similarity of results derived with cancer and noncancer controls suggests that benzodiazepines do not influence the risk of cancer as a whole."

Neil

[Sillysand in reply to AussieNeil]

Hi Neil Something caught my attention a couple of days ago , so I type in "Is Ativan linked to CA". What came up was, Ativan users have had a 15% higher risk to develop cancer. After having hot flashes for 8 + years , Ativan was suggested. 1 mg at night works like a charm. And as former Lic nurse I know its not meant for long term. When your totally exhausted day after day from Hf's you get desperate for relief. So now I'm just a bit rattled wondering if I caused my CLL by taking Ativan. When the eye infection report 2 months ago came back " Unknown Etiology " It made me think of CLL and how medicine and science still needs to figure out how and why we got it. "Unknown Etiology" drives me nuts. In the mean time I will wean myself off Ativan. Thank you for the articles. And yes,, I, we,, are all blessed to have treatments that are now available to us we the time comes . As always Neil . Thank YOU ! 🙏

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator in reply to Sillysand]

With respect to "Ativan users have had a 15% higher risk to develop cancer.", remember to always look at the absolute, not relative risk. If you have a 1 in 10 million risk chance of developing cancer without Ativan, the absolute risk with Ativan will be 1 in 8.5 million - not worth losing sleep over. However, if the risk without Ativan is 1 in 10, then perhaps the extra 15% might be more of a concern.

Neil

[Sillysand]

Ok , Thank you Neil

Lorna

[Curious79]

I think it is obvious that chemicals cause CLL. It is known that benzine and agent orange do. Also men who work more with chemicals get see CLL more frequently than women. I worked a lot with chemicals, spray glue specifically, at 1 time during college years to support myself in the art business. Also loved the smell of paints and benzene when I was a little kid. Pretty sure that had something to do with my getting CLL. I never took benzodiazepams or any drugs.

[LeoPa]

I think it is more likely that a mix of multiple environmental factors which are impossible to disentangle cause CLL as well as other cancers. It's seldom just one thing and even then it would be difficult to prove causation.

[Lavinia-Blue]

Per the Merick Manual

“Although the cause of CLL is unknown, some cases appear to have a hereditary component. CLL is rare in Japan and China, and the incidence does not seem to be increased among people who are of Japanese descent living in the United States, suggesting the importance of genetic factors. CLL is more common among people with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.”

merckmanuals.com/profession...