Use of antidiabetic drugs is associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer (PCa), according to paper published online ahead of print in the Scandinavian Journal of Urology.
In a study of 78,615 men in the Finnish Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer, Antti Haring, MD, of the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland, and colleagues found that antidiabetic drug users had a 15% lower overall PCa risk compared with non-users. PCa screening did not affect the association, the investigators reported. Among antidiabetic drug users, metformin decreased overall PCa risk by 19%. Results also showed that use of sulphonylureas was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of metastatic PCa. The investigators found no association between use of thiazoledenediones or insulin and PCa risk.
“As sulphonylureas stimulate insulin secretion, the results suggest that hyperinsulinemia may be a risk factor for PCa,” the researchers concluded in their paper.
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