A retrospective study to assess the risk of bladder cancer in type-2 diabetic patients treated with pioglitazone

• Main Authors: Prabhat Agrawal, Apoorva Jain, Ashish Gautam, Ashwini Kumar Nigam, Nikhil Pursnani, Maaz Farooqui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Perspectives in Clinical Research
• Subjects: adverse drug reaction; diabetes; oral hypoglycemic; pioglitazone; urinary bladder cancer
• Online Access: http://www.picronline.org/article.asp?issn=2229-3485;year=2021;volume=12;issue=1;spage=9;epage=13;aulast=
• ISSN: 2229-3485

Introduction: Pioglitazone has been a cornerstone of oral hypoglycemic therapy. Concerns have been raised about its association with urinary bladder cancer. Considering the wide usage of this drug, concrete and multiple population-based studies are needed to establish the safety of this drug. The present retrospective study is aimed to assess the association of pioglitazone with urinary bladder cancer. Materials and Methods: Clinical records of 4170 patients (2085 pioglitazone users and similar number of nonpioglitazone users) attending the diabetes clinic at a tertiary level teaching hospital were accessed, and the patients were subjected to symptom-directed questionnaire, urine examination, and cystoscopy and bladder biopsy (whenever clinically indicated). The risk of bladder cancer was also assessed with respect to cumulative dose and duration of pioglitazone. Results: We did not observe any increased risk of bladder malignancy with pioglitazone exposure; furthermore, there was no association with cumulative dose and duration of pioglitazone therapy. Pioglitazone was found to be effective and safe in managing glycemic control in diabetic patients.