Ran into friend at grocery store with mystery illness. Docs attri...

It is strange as my father who was in great health had an upper respiratory infection and had been treated with levaquin and not long after his lymph glands swelled and he developed a huge swelling above his eye which was biopsied and found to be b cell lymphoma...and cat scans revealed lymph nodes were involved under his arms and in other areas...the question in my mind is did the lymphoma exist before he took the levaquin, did the levaquin aka levoquin cause the lymphoma or did the levoquin merely facilitate the expression of the lymphoma and spread of the lymphoma. I have been looking to see if any studies were done as he had no swelling before having taken the antibiotic. Cause and effect is always a problem but I wonder if there are any studies of quinolines and the spread of already existing cancers. Or are there possible carcinogenic properties of floroquinolones.

My father at 93 recd levaquin as a result of a moderate upper respiratory infection. Not long after completing the medication he developed swelling over his eye socket and swollen lymph nodes under his arms and along parts of his back...he was diagnoses with biopsy for b cell lymphoma. Whether levaquin caused the lymphoma, or facilitated the spread of already existing lymphoma or just coincidence remains to be seen. I was looking for sites to see if any correlation has been made between b cell lymphoma, which by the way is on the rise, and floroquinilone antibiotics of which levaquin aka levoquin belongs. The fact that they occured at similar times in a persons life does not establish cause and effect...but if there are many of these cases it would bear looking into. Has there been any research on that. Have studies of incidences been made.

One poster I found seemed to imply a link between Levaquin and "hot cells", or lymphoma. Will find link and mail to you. Who knows what other side effects this causes. My dad had severe reaction to it with 10 or 11 side effects. Docs in denial, attributed condition to lymphoma, which just suddenly appeared!

My feelings exactly. Did it exacerbate a pre-existing condition or was it the cause? One poster implied that lymphoma arose from Levaquin. I'll find it and post. Fluoride is a potent carcinogen. Last April or March 2008, Scientific American Magazine article gave link between fluoride and childhood bone cancer. Who knows what other effects Levaquin can cause. Father had at least 10 of them. Docs in denial, attributed most of his side effects to Lymphoma. Retuxin was final straw.

Sorry to hear all the bad stuff that happened to you dad. Someone in my family is now in the hospital waiting for a biopsy of a mass between her lung and heart/superior vena cava. It is suspected that it is a malignancy and my research has suggested the most common masses are lymphoma or a type of lung cancer. She has been going from doctor to specialist to even more specialists to treat a suspected allergic reaction to levaquin for the past 2 months. The really crazy thing is that one of the doctors at the hospital said that she is the second person with exactly the same story. Coincidence???