An Updated Review on Cancer Risk Associated with Incretin Mimetics and Enhancers
- 2 January 2015
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part C
- Vol. 33 (1), 67-124
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10590501.2015.1003496
Abstract
Incretin-based therapies, including the use of incretin mimetics of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists and incretin enhancers of dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, are widely used by clinicians for glucose lowering in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These agents have benefits of a lower risk of hypoglycemia, being neutral for body weight for DPP-4 inhibitors and having a potential for weight reduction with GLP-1R agonists. They may also have a neutral or beneficial cardiovascular effect. Despite these benefits, an increased risk of cancer (especially pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer) associated with incretin-based therapies has been reported. In this article, we reviewed related literature of experimental animal and observational human studies, clinical trials, and meta-analyses published until December 15, 2014. Current studies suggested a probable role of GLP-1R activation on the development of pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer in rodents, but such an effect in humans is not remarkable due to the lower or lack of expression of GLP-1R on human pancreatic ductal cells and thyroid tissues. Findings in human studies are controversial and inconclusive. In the analyses of the US Food and Drug Administration adverse events reporting system, a significantly higher risk of pancreatic cancer was observed for GLP-1R agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors, but a significantly higher risk of thyroid cancer was only observed for GLP-1R agonists. Such a higher risk of pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer could not be similarly demonstrated in other human observational studies or analyses of data from clinical trials. With regards to cancers other than pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer, available studies supported a neutral association in humans. Some preliminary studies even suggested a potentially beneficial effect on the development of other cancers with the use of incretins. Based on current evidence, continuous monitoring of the cancer issues related to incretin-based therapies is required, even though the benefits may outweigh the potential cancer risk in the general patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Keywords
This publication has 186 references indexed in Scilit:
- Safety and Tolerability of Sitagliptin in Type 2 Diabetes: Pooled Analysis of 25 Clinical StudiesDiabetes Therapy, 2013
- No evidence of drug‐induced pancreatitis in rats treated with exenatide for 13 weeksDiabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2012
- A local glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) system in human pancreatic isletsDiabetologia, 2012
- Insulin-like growth factor axis gene polymorphisms modify risk of pancreatic cancerCancer Epidemiology, 2012
- Pancreatitis, Pancreatic, and Thyroid Cancer With Glucagon-Like Peptide-1–Based TherapiesGastroenterology, 2011
- The impact of type 2 diabetes and antidiabetic drugs on cancer cell growthJournal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 2011
- Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide stimulates the proliferation of colorectal cancer cellsRegulatory Peptides, 2010
- Sitagliptin: review of preclinical and clinical data regarding incidence of pancreatitisInternational Journal of Clinical Practice, 2010
- Pdx1 and other factors that regulate pancreatic β‐cell survivalDiabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2009
- On the Origin of Cancer CellsScience, 1956