Lawmakers question Vytorin cancer risk data

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two top Democratic lawmakers on Thursday questioned recent claims by Merck & Co Inc and Schering Plough Corp that incidents of cancer in patients taking their cholesterol drug Vytorin were a fluke.

The lawmakers, Rep. John Dingell and Rep. Bart Stupak, both from Michigan, are seeking 10 years of related company records after a study last month found Vytorin patients had a higher rate of cancer than those taking a placebo.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by John Wallace)