CDC to inform Americans about risky pregnancy drug
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ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it was spearheading an effort to better inform millions of Americans who may have been exposed to a defunct pregnancy drug now linked to cancer.
The CDC, which is responsible for tracking disease and stamping out epidemics, said it was refocusing attention on Diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic form of estrogen, because many of its past users were still unaware of its health risks.
The CDC announcement follows more than 30 years of research in the medical community on the health effects of DES.
An estimated 5 million to 10 million pregnant women and their children were exposed to the drug between 1938 and 1971, when it was prescribed to prevent miscarriages and premature deliveries in expectant mothers with low estrogen levels.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised doctors to stop prescribing it to pregnant women following a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which linked the drug to a rare vaginal cancer in girls and young women.
Subsequent research has cited a range of other DES health-related problems in women, including increased risks for breast cancer and infertility. Men exposed to the drug have a greater chance of developing noncancerous testicular growths.
"It happened several decades ago, so it's gone off the radar screen for a lot of people who were exposed as well as (health care) providers," said Marsha Vanderford, a spokeswoman for the CDC's national center for environmental health.
The centerpiece of the CDC's education campaign is a new Web site, www.cdc.gov/DES, which lists the names of the more than 75 types of DES-like drugs that once circulated in the United States.
The site also offers advice to those who may have been exposed to the drug, including recommendations that women have regular mammograms and breast exams and share their medical history with children who were exposed to the drug.
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