Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
Risperidone does appear to increase the risk of cancer. According to this study titled, “Hyperprolactinemia-inducing antipsychotics increase breast cancer risk by activating JAK-STAT5 in precancerous lesions”, Risperidone induced hyperprolactinemia resulting in precancerous lesions progressing to cancer.[1]
A retrospective study on atypical antipsychotics and pituitary tumors found Risperidone to have the highest reporting ratio for hyperprolactinemia, galactorrhea and pituitary tumor compared to seven other antipsychotics in the AERS database.[2]
The association between prolactin levels, which may increase cancer risk, and the use of antipsychotics such as risperidone are documented, but more studies need to be done to formulate absolute cancer risk percentages.[3]
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[1] Johnston, A.N., Bu, W., Hein, S. et al. Hyperprolactinemia-inducing antipsychotics increase breast cancer risk by activating JAK-STAT5 in precancerous lesions. Breast Cancer Res 20, 42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-018-0969-z
[2] Szarfman A, Tonning JM, Levine JG, Doraiswamy PM. Atypical antipsychotics and pituitary tumors: a pharmacovigilance study. Pharmacotherapy. 2006;26(6):748-758. doi:10.1592/phco.26.6.748
[3] Pottegård A, Lash TL, Cronin-Fenton D, Ahern TP, Damkier P. Use of antipsychotics and risk of breast cancer: a Danish nationwide case-control study. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2018;84(9):2152-2161. doi:10.1111/bcp.13661