Fertility Drugs and Ovarian Cancer: A brief introduction
Fertility drugs are medicines that are used to enhance the ability to produce offspring by improving the quality of eggs or sperm. Cetrotide, Crinine, Factrel, etcetera are the names of some of the infertility medications. The few most common fertility drugs side effects are bloating, headache, breast tenderness, upset stomach, hot flashes, and mood swings. It works by increasing the levels of certain hormones in the body by helping in ovulating.
Cancer that begins in the female organs that produce eggs called the ovaries; is ovarian cancer. It multiplies very rapidly and forms an ovarian tumor. As ovarian cancer has less or no symptoms in it’s first stage, it is often undiagnosed until it has spread in the pelvis and stomach. Chemotherapy and surgery are commonly used to treat ovarian cancer. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The correlation between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer
Infertility appears to increase itself the incidence of ovarian carcinoma, while the potential additional risk associated with the use of fertility drugs is still a subject of debate. For many years nulliparity constitutes an established risk factor for ovarian cancer [Risch 1994]. Few studies have shown that long term fertility drugs using has resulted in the chances of a borderline ovarian tumor.
A drug manufacturer must not voluntarily disclose the study information
Drugmakers do not need to disclose clinical trial data and studies on drug packaging. But, in recent year’s academic and consumer groups have made drug makers and medical device manufacturers release the trial data without access to search data, as doctors and patients will have an incomplete picture of the risks and benefits of medicines. [Statnews] But, as a lot of researchers are unable to verify and conclude their research at times, a drug manufacturer cannot take this information to be reliable. Hence, being a manufacturer, I cannot rely on such researchers and studies. A lot of these investigations are underscored and never fully accomplished. Taking into consideration this factor, we cannot rely on such clinical trials and report them on a drug package.
Therefore, as a manufacturer, I do not believe that disclosing and publishing data for an ongoing clinical trial is of any way beneficial to the consumer. Randomized collected clinical trials, leading to large scale meta-analysis, are considered the gold standard for research evaluating new drugs and other therapeutic interventions. [Journal 2019] Once the correlation between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer is established, then only any statutory warning can be published on the drug package. The study and findings about this are not satisfying at all. By not disclosing this information at this stage of the research, I being the fertility drug manufacturer, is not violating any government rules or is not being ethical in my profession. If the study turns out to be negative and establishes that there is no relation between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer, my consumers will be misguided and mistaken by this warning. As a corporate, I am not evading any once interest here or not harming any consumer.
Reference
Risch HA, Marrett LD, Howe GR: Parity, contraception, infertility, and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1994,140(7):585–597.
Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Volume 6, Issue 1, October 2019, Pages 51–84
Fertility Drugs and Ovarian Cancer: A brief introduction
Fertility medication improves reproductive fertility. In a woman, it is used to stimulate follicle development of the ovary, and in man, it enhances the production and quality of the sperms. Bravelle, Clomid, Dostinex, Femara, etcetera are the names of some of the infertility medications. A few common side effects of taking fertility drugs are abdominal discomfort, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and abnormal menstrual bleeding or spotting. Sometimes, few fertility drugs are also used in IVF treatment for controlling the development and release of eggs from the ovary and improving the chance the success.
Ovarian cancer is the type of cancer where abnormal cellular growth is found in the ovary, which multiplies rapidly and forms a tumor. Ovarian cancer generally shows no symptoms in the early stage, and therefore it spreads quickly and advances to the next step being undetected. At later stages, it becomes complicated and sometimes fatal to be treated.
The correlation between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer
In recent years, a great interest has been addressed to a supposed correlation between infertility treatments and cancer development, mainly breast, uterus, and ovarian cancer [Althuis 2005]. The various studies that provide pieces of evidence that usage of fertility drugs do not contribute to the risk of ovarian cancer.
A drug manufacturer must voluntarily disclose the study information
Manufacturing companies have specific ethical rules and responsibilities towards society. They play a significant role in the daily lives of their consumers all over the world. Their actions and policies have an immense impact on civilization. The marketing, packaging, and advertising of any product should be legal and ethical. Advertisement a packaging not only puts the picture of the product’s availability or services provided but also describes the product and even at times motivates the consumer to buy it. Consumers are highly dependent on the advertisements and packaging they see.
Selling drugs is one of the very profitable businesses in the markets all over the world, but, it also has a great responsibility for the seller and the manufacturer. In my opinion, if studies are still going on about the relationship between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer, the fertility drug manufacturer must disclose this information as a warning on the drug packet. As a consumer, each woman has a right to know what they are consuming. By not disclosing this information, the manufacturer is trying to hide it from the consumer, which is entirely against business ethics.
Pharmaceuticals are susceptible consumer products, and therefore it is governed by specific advertisement government regulations worldwide. Hiding about this study is disingenuous and misleading for the consumers. Being a good corporation, I would voluntarily disclose the study information on the package of the drug under the warning column. This would help every woman that uses the drug being well aware of what could be the consequences, irrespective of the fact that studies researching the correlation between the use of fertility drugs and ovarian cancer are still in progress.
Reference
Althuis MD, Scoccia B, Lamb EJ, Moghissi KS, Westhoff CL, Mabie JE, Brinton LA: Melanoma, thyroid, cervical, and colon cancer risk after use of fertility drugs. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2005,193(3 Pt 1):668–674.