Agencies Posted online: Sat Sep 17 2011
Washington : Two new drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes could significantly increase the risk of developing pancreatitis and pancreatic and thyroid cancer, a new study has warned.
Researchers from the Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA examined the US Food and Drug Administration’s database for adverse events reported between 2004 and 2009 among patients using the drugs sitagliptin and exenatide.
They found a six-fold increase in the odds ratio for reported cases of pancreatitis with these drugs, compared with four other diabetes therapies they used as controls.
In addition to the six-fold increase in reported cases of pancreatitis, the researchers also found a 2.9-fold greater rate of pancreatic cancer in patients using exenatide and a 2.7-fold higher rate of pancreatic cancer in patients on sitagliptin, compared with the other therapies.
Additionally, they found a statistically significant increase in the risk of thyroid cancer among the exenatide group, but not among the sitagliptin group.
The study has been published in the journal Gastroenterology.
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