Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors not cancer risk factor

(HealthDay)—Over the short term there is not a significantly increased overall cancer risk among individuals with type 2 diabetes using sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, according to a study published in the October issue of Diabetologia.

Huilin Tang, from Peking University Third Hospital in China, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify randomized controlled trials that reported cancer events in individuals with type 2 diabetes treated with SGLT2 inhibitors for at least 24 weeks.

After meta-analysis, the researchers identified 580 incidences of cancer among 34,569 individuals (46 studies with a mean trial duration of 61 weeks). SGLT2 inhibitors were not significantly associated with an increased risk of overall cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.96 to 1.36) when compared with placebo or other active glucose-lowering treatments. Prespecified cancer types were examined, and there may be an increased risk of bladder cancer associated with SGLT2 inhibitors (OR, 3.87), especially empagliflozin (OR, 4.49). Canagliflozin might protect against gastrointestinal cancers (OR, 0.15).

"Given the short-term trial durations and uncertainty of evidence, future long-term prospective studies and postmarketing surveillance studies are warranted," conclude the authors.