Federal regulators are alerting the public that the prescription weight-loss drug Belviq may be associated with an increased risk of cancer, though it's unclear how big of a risk that might be, NBC News reported.
The Food and Drug Administration published the alert Tuesday afternoon, saying that a clinical trial assessing the medication's safety showed a "possible increased risk of cancer." Belviq is also known in its generic form as lorcaserin.
"The cause of the cancer is uncertain, and we cannot conclude that lorcaserin contributes to the cancer risk," the alert said. "However, we wanted to make the public aware of this potential risk. We are continuing to evaluate the clinical trial results and will communicate our final conclusions and recommendations when we have completed our review."
