An Update on Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Medications for Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Wendy L. Bennett, Sonal Singh, Jodi B. Segal
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters18 October 2011An Update on Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Medications for Type 2 DiabetesWendy L. Bennett, MD, MPH, Sonal Singh, MD, MPH, and Jodi B. Segal, MD, MPHWendy L. Bennett, MD, MPHFrom The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.Search for more papers by this author, Sonal Singh, MD, MPHFrom The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.Search for more papers by this author, and Jodi B. Segal, MD, MPHFrom The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-8-201110180-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We appreciate Drs. Goldstein and Mascitelli's letter. We acknowledge growing concerns about the association of diabetes medications and cancer risk (1), and we therefore evaluated cancer as an outcome in our report (2). As Drs. Goldstein and Mascitelli point out, DPP-4 inhibitors have been linked with reports of pancreatic cancer in the FDA's database of reported adverse events (3). Because Elashoff and colleagues examined spontaneous reports to the FDA, they lacked data on the number of patients exposed to DPP-4 inhibitors and could not report on the rate of this outcome (3).Our study included 4 trials and ...References1. Giovannucci E, Harlan DM, Archer MC, Bergenstal RM, Gapstur SM, Habel LA, et al. Diabetes and cancer: a consensus report. Diabetes Care. 2010;33:1674-85. [PMID: 20587728] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Bennett WL, Wilson LM, Bolen S, Maruthur N, Singh S, Chatterjee R, et al. Oral diabetes medications for adults with type 2 diabetes: an update. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2011. Accessed at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.welch.jhmi.edu/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=cer27 on 28 August 2011. [PMID: 21735563] Google Scholar3. Elashoff M, Matveyenko AV, Gier B, Elashoff R, Butler PC. Pancreatitis, pancreatic, and thyroid cancer with glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies. Gastroenterology. 2011;141:150-6. [PMID: 21334333] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Pratley RE, Nauck M, Bailey T, Montanya E, Cuddihy R, Filetti S, et al; 1860-LIRA-DPP-4 Study Group. Liraglutide versus sitagliptin for patients with type 2 diabetes who did not have adequate glycaemic control with metformin: a 26-week, randomised, parallel-group, open-label trial. Lancet. 2010;375:1447-56. [PMID: 20417856] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Raz I, Chen Y, Wu M, Hussain S, Kaufman KD, Amatruda JM, et al. Efficacy and safety of sitagliptin added to ongoing metformin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008;24:537-50. [PMID: 18194595] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. FDA's Sentinel Initiative. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2011. Accessed at www.fda.gov/Safety/FDAsSentinelInitiative/ucm2007250.htm on 15 June 2011. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M10-2867. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoComparative Effectiveness and Safety of Medications for Type 2 Diabetes: An Update Including New Drugs and 2-Drug Combinations Wendy L. Bennett , Nisa M. Maruthur , Sonal Singh , Jodi B. Segal , Lisa M. Wilson , Ranee Chatterjee , Spyridon S. Marinopoulos , Milo A. Puhan , Padmini Ranasinghe , Lauren Block , Wanda K. Nicholson , Susan Hutfless , Eric B. Bass , and Shari Bolen An Update on the Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Medications for Type 2 Diabetes Mark R. Goldstein and Luca Mascitelli Metrics 18 October 2011Volume 155, Issue 8Page: 563KeywordsDatabasesDisclosureDrug safetyDrugsObservational studiesPancreatic cancerRisk managementSafetyType 2 diabetes ePublished: 18 October 2011 Issue Published: 18 October 2011 CopyrightCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...