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Nature Biotechnology 26, 845 (1 August 2008) | doi:10.1038/nbt0808-845b

FDA probes TNF blockers

Brady Huggett

The tumor necrosis factor inhibitors Enbrel (etanercept), Humira (adalimumab), Remicade (infliximab) and Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) are being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after being linked to about 30 cases of cancer. The cancers (mostly lymphomas, though leukemia, melanoma and solid organ cancers also surfaced) occurred between 1998, the year Remicade was approved, and the end of April this year, and were found in children or young adults who began using the drugs before the age of 18 to fight Crohn's, juvenile idiopathic arthritis or other diseases.