Does Entyvio increase the risk of cancer?

Entyvio (vedolizumab) does not seem to increase your risk of developing cancer. Research suggests that the number of people who develop cancer while taking Entyvio is similar to the number of people expected to develop cancer if they were not taking the drug.

Entyvio is used to control inflammation and symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases that come with a higher-than-average risk of cancer. When assessing the cancer risk associated with Entyvio, researchers must compare it to the already elevated risk of cancer among the patient population.

In the initial clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of Entyvio, a similar percentage of people taking Entyvio or placebo developed cancer—six of 1,434 (0.4%) of the people taking Entyvio developed cancer, while one of 297 (0.3%) of those taking a placebo developed cancer.

Since the drug’s approval in 2014, the outcomes among patients taking Entyvio have been followed and analyzed extensively. The lack of association between Entyvio and cancer has continued to be proven, even with longer-term use.

All together, the data reflect that Entyvio is not associated with higher rates of cancer. In some analyses, the drug even seemed to come with a lower risk of cancer in the colon and rectum.