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Relation between diabetes, metformin treatment and the occurrence of malignancies in a Belgian primary care setting
Ngwana Geraldine1, Aerts Marc, Truyers Carla
1Center for Statistics, University of Hasselt, Belgium.
Background:
Associations between type 2 diabetic patients and a higher risk of developing cancer have been reported worldwide. Recently, a protective effect of metformin has been described.
Aim:
To examine in the Belgian primary care population the relation between presence of type 2 diabetes with and without metformin treatment and the occurrence of malignancies.
Design Of Study:
Retrospective cohort study, based on the Intego database, an ongoing Belgian general practice-based morbidity registry, covering 90 general practitioners and including about 1.5 million patient-years between 1994 and 2008.
Method:
Cox proportional hazard analysis comparing emergence of malignancy in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, and among patients with diabetes comparing emergence of malignancy in those treated with various antidiabetic drugs.
Results:
Malignancies occurred more in type 2 diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic controls (HR=1.84; 95% CI=1.51-2.24), adjusted for age, gender and weight. Treatment with both metformin and 'other' antidiabetic agents was related to decreased cancer risk (HR=0.24 and 0.22) compared to diet only in men but not in women.
Conclusion:
In this Belgian primary care setting, diabetic patients have higher cancer prevalences than non-diabetic patients. Moreover, in diabetic men, not only metformin but also other antidiabetic agents were associated with lower cancer risks.
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