Johnson & Johnson sent doctors a warning letter about the increased risk of lymphoma, a blood cancer, in patients taking its rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, Reuters reported last week.

The warning comes in the wake of Merck’s decision to pull its arthritis drug Vioxx from all worldwide markets after a study confirmed that it increases a patients’ risk of heart attack and stroke.

Patients taking Remicade suffered lymphoma at three times the rate of the general public, Centocor, the J&J unit that markets Remicade, wrote in the letter.

Remicade’s label will be revised to reflect the lymphoma risk.

(via Reuters)