PHILADELPHIA, PA, Jun 11, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) —
Three major studies examining long-acting insulin use in the U.S.
and Europe found no increased risk of a wide range of cancers in
patients using glargine, contradicting previous suggestions that
there may be a link, researchers reported at the American Diabetes
Association’s 72nd Scientific Sessions(R).
Researchers in five northern European countries (Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland and Scotland), at the Kaiser Permanente in Northern
and Southern California, and at the University of North Carolina
(using MedAssurant U.S. healthcare insurance databases and electronic
medical records from Louisiana and Massachusetts) independently
compared use of long-acting insulin glargine (trade name Lantus) for
patients with diabetes with other long-acting insulins and found no
increased risk of a wide range of cancers.
“The preponderance of the evidence suggests that there is no
increased risk of cancer associated with relatively short-term use
insulin,” said John Buse, MD, PhD, director of the Diabetes Center at
the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. A series of
previous studies, published in 2009, had suggested a possible link
between use of glargine and an increased risk of cancer, with
conflicting results.
Researchers at all locations looked at the association between
insulin use and all cancers, as well as at the individual risks for
breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. Only one study, by
researchers in the Kaiser Permanente group, found a “suggestion” of
an association between insulin glargine use and a modest increase in
breast cancer risk, but only among new insulin users. They found no
association with prostate, colorectal cancer or all cancers combined
in new users or in prior users of insulin. Principal Investigator
Laurel Habel, PhD, Research Scientist at the Kaiser Permanente
Northern California Division of Research, noted that “results of
their study should be viewed cautiously, given the relatively short
duration of glargine use and the large number of associations
examined. Further, because the induction period for many carcinogens
is years to decades, additional follow-up of the Kaiser cohort and
others will be needed to determine whether glargine is associated
with an increase in breast, or other forms of, cancer.”
The Kaiser Permanente group examined data for 115,000 patients with
diabetes who were taking either insulin glargine or another commonly
used long-acting insulin known as NPH. They compared cancer risk in
new insulin users as well as patients who had switched from NPH to
glargine. There was a median duration of 1.2 years for glargine use
and 1.4 years for NPH.
None of the other groups found any association between glargine use
and an increased risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina used a large,
automated healthcare database (MedAssurant) to identify 43,306
patients initiating glargine and 9,147 initiating NPH, all of whom
were free of cancer when they initiated insulin use. The mean
duration of treatment was 1.2 years for the glargine group and 1.1
years for those taking NPH. Follow-up was discontinued when a patient
experienced a change in their insulin treatment.
“In conclusion we found no evidence of an increased risk for cancer
and we specifically found no increased risk for breast cancer in the
small group that stayed on these drugs for more than 24 months,” said
Principal Investigator Til Stuermer, MD, MPH, PhD, Professor of
Epidemiology and Director of the Center of Excellence in
Pharmacoepidemiology and Public Health, University of North Carolina
Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Our study adds to the
important evidence about long-term outcomes of these antidiabetic
treatments.”
The Northern European Study of Insulin and Cancer is the largest
study of its kind comprising 447,821 diabetic patients using insulin,
over 1.5 million person-years of observation and 17,500 new cases of
cancer in the cohorts. The average follow-up time is longer than any
other follow-up study, at 3.1 years for those on glargine and 3.5
years for other insulins. This study looked at the risk for all
cancers, as well as individually for breast, lung, pancreas,
colorectal and prostate cancers.
“There was no difference in risk between glargine and other insulins
found in any of the pre-defined primary and secondary hypotheses of
this study,” said Principal Investigator Peter Boyle, PhD, President
of the International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon, France.
Press Conference: Monday, June 11, 11:45 a.m. ET
The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop
Diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected
by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and
manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities;
provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those
denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission
is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all
people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the
American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or
visit
www.diabetes.org . Information from both these sources is
available in English and Spanish.
Contact:
Christine Feheley
(703) 253-4374
Colleen Fogarty
(703) 549-1500, ext. 2146
News Room: June 8-12, 2012
Room 107, Pennsylvania Convention Center
(215) 418-2030
SOURCE: American Diabetes Association
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