New Study Reports Pancreatitis and Thyroid Cancers with Byetta and Januvia

Lisbon, Portugal: A paper recently published in the journal Gastroenterology and being debated at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes is raising red flags over the safety of the diabetes therapies exenatide (Byetta) and sitagliptin (Januvia.)

The study, done by Peter Butler, MD of the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues, found a six-fold increased risk for pancreatitis with either drug compared with controls, and a threefold greater chance of pancreatic cancer. The study also found a four-fold greater likelihood of reported thyroid cancer with exenatide.

Butler and colleagues evaluated data from the Food and Drug Administration's AERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) between 2004 and 2009, which are limited, but nonetheless are cause for concern.

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Published on Sep-19-11