Sitagliptin‐induced pancreatitis – a longer road than expected

Abstract

Key Clinical MessageSitagliptin-induced pancreatitis can occur at any time after the initiation of therapy, even after several years. Patients taking sitagliptin who present with signs and symptoms of mild or severe pancreatitis should immediately discontinue sitagliptin and use an alternate medication regimen for control of type 2 diabetes.

Anti-diabetic therapies and the risk of acute pancreatitis: a nationwide retrospective cohort study from Taiwan

“…Although acute pancreatitis is likely an acute effect of antidiabetic medications, the implications of this relatively short observation period suggest that pancreatitis occurring after longer duration of exposure may not have been adequately ascertained in this study; however, our sensitivity analyses, allowing a 1‐month or 3‐month gap of continuous exposure, have an average observation period of 88.0 and 158.8 days, and the results stayed similar. Recent clinical reports have highlighted the long latency period required for development of pancreatitis . Future studies should use clinical databases with much more granular capture of confounders and outcomes, such as pancreatic enzymes and cancer.…”

Sitagliptin-induced Pancreatitis: Chronic Use Would Not Spare You the Complication

“…In the Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin Study, the association between sitagliptin and pancreatic disease suggested a small absolute increased risk for pancreatitis [7]. Multiple case reports also reported similar findings with even longer exposure to this medication in up to three years [9].…”

“…Since sitagliptin became available in the market, multiple studies and clinical trials were conducted to investigate its relationship to acute pancreatitis, and results have been conflicting; however, recently, sitagliptin has been identified as a possible agent to cause pancreatitis [3,4,[6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Williams-Herman et al evaluated a 12-pooled analysis on the safety of sitagliptin after two years of treatment, reporting no association between sitagliptin and acute pancreatitis [15]. Nonetheless, recent meta-analysis and case reports have supported the relationship between sitagliptin and pancreatic disorders [3,4,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. In the Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin Study, the association between sitagliptin and pancreatic disease suggested a small absolute increased risk for pancreatitis [7].…”

Antiproliferative and Apoptogenic Efficacy of Antidiabetic Drugs Metformin and Sitagliptin Against McF7 and Hepg2 Cancer Cells: A Comparative Molecular Study

“…Several scientific interpretations have indicated about the hostile effects of using agonists of GLP-1 pathway 12,13,14 . The hazard of pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis is reported to be higher in individuals with diabetes and obesity than in the healthy people.…”