Guest Post Written By Monique Alarcon, Partner at the law firm of Wisner Baum
It takes courage to seek help when struggling with mental health. Whether you are dealing with bipolar disorder, severe depression, or other diagnoses, taking a prescription drug your doctor believes you need is the responsible action to take when you are struggling.
You want to function. You want to feel better. You want to be there for your family and friends.
So you put your trust in a medication to help you, maybe for years.
But what if that medication came with serious health risks? What if the drug maker knew about those risks and failed to warn the medical community and consumers?
This is exactly what Wisner Baum is shining a light on in litigation against the manufacturers of Risperdal (risperidone), Invega (paliperidone), and Zyprexa (olanzapine).
Nobody Warned About the Risk of Neuroleptic Drugs Causing Breast Cancer
If you’ve taken Risperdal (risperidone), Zyprexa (olanzapine), or Invega (paliperidone) for bipolar disorder or other mental health diagnoses, you may not know that studies have shown these medications increase the risk of breast cancer — and our lawsuits allege the drug companies have known about the risks for many years.
Millions of women have been prescribed these medications to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression that failed to respond to other treatments, mood instability, and more. While they may help with symptoms, these medications can drastically raise prolactin levels in your body, which increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
How Neuroleptic Drugs Increase Cancer Risk
Here’s what happens when taking Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Invega:
The medication blocks dopamine receptors, which causes your prolactin hormone levels to spike. Research shows this isn’t a minor side effect — it’s a serious issue that has not received the attention it warrants.
A 2022 study looked at over 540,000 women’s medical records and found that women taking prolactin-raising antipsychotics had a 62% higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to women taking other psychiatric medications.
Think about that. A 62% increased risk.
Prolactin doesn’t just slightly increase the breast cancer risk. It actively promotes cancer by making breast cells grow faster, helping cancer cells survive when they should die, working with estrogen to fuel tumor growth, and making cancer treatments less effective.
What Drug Companies Knew and When They Knew It
The connection between these drugs and elevated prolactin levels has been well-documented since the 1990s. Johnson & Johnson, which makes Risperdal and Invega, conducted research showing the link decades ago. Eli Lilly, which makes Zyprexa, had similar data.
Yet until 2025, the drug labels for these medications stated there was no proven association between these drugs and cancer in humans. We allege in ongoing lawsuits that these companies could have adequately warned the medical community and patients about a known danger, but they chose profit over people’s health.
We represent hundreds of women in this litigation. We have seen firsthand how this alleged failure to warn has caused unspeakable pain to the women who trusted these medications.
Thus far in the legal process, we have collected internal company documents showing the manufacturers knew about the breast cancer risk but aggressively marketed these drugs anyway. They pushed doctors to prescribe the drugs off-label for conditions that fall outside of what the FDA approved them to treat.
We believe what they have done is wrong, and we are determined to hold them accountable in court.
Lawsuits Against the Manufacturers
Wisner Baum is one of the leading law firms in the country representing women (and some men) who took Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Invega and subsequently developed breast cancer. This isn’t the first litigation over Risperdal side effects — Johnson & Johnson previously settled thousands of cases related to gynecomastia (abnormal breast growth in males) for $800 million.
The ongoing breast cancer cases are different than the previous gynecomastia cases that settled. Our lawsuits allege the drug companies:
- Knew about the risk of breast cancer risks for decades.
- Failed to warn patients and doctors.
- Actively downplayed the connection.
- Continued aggressive marketing despite the known dangers.
- Violated their duty to provide adequate safety warnings.
Women deserve to know the truth. They deserve compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and the profound impact cancer has had on their lives and families.
If you took Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Invega and were later diagnosed with breast cancer, you may have a case. Wisner Baum is evaluating claims now, and case evaluations are free and confidential.
You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need to have all your documentation before you contact us; just get in touch and see if we can help you.
Taking legal action isn’t just about compensation. It’s about forcing these companies to change how they do business. It’s about making sure the next woman who walks into her psychiatrist’s office gets the full truth about what she’s putting into her body.
It’s about accountability, pure and simple.
If you or someone you love took Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Invega and developed breast cancer, legal help is available. A Case for Women can connect you with the experienced attorneys at Wisner Baum who will review your potential case for free.
