Incretin-Based Drugs Don't Confer Risk for Pancreatic Cancer

Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors (including “gliptins” such as sitagliptin) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (such as exenatide and liraglutide) are incretin-based drugs that help control type 2 diabetes. In an analysis of the FDA's adverse events database, pancreatic cancer was reported more commonly among patients who took sitagliptin or exenatide than among those who took other diabetes medications (Gastroenterology 2011; 141:150). In a new population-based cohort study, researchers examined administrative databases in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada to explore associations between incretin-based drug use and pancreatic cancer in nearly 1 million patients with type 2 diabetes who started treatment with noninsul…