A study suggests a link between drugs like Kombiglyze and cancer that could lead to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer for diabetes patients.

Kombiglyze XR is a brand-name drug that combines two diabetes medications, metformin and saxagliptin.

Both these drugs help keep blood sugar levels under control, but in different ways.

Metformin is an older medication. It lowers blood sugar levels by decreasing the amount of glucose produced by the liver and by delaying the absorption of sugar from food.

It also makes muscle tissue more sensitive to insulin, which stimulates the tissue to absorb more glucose from the blood.

Saxagliptin is one of the newer diabetes medications. It was originally approved by the FDA in 2009 under the brand name Onglyza.

It’s one of a group of medications known as DPP-4 inhibitors. These drugs trigger a chain of events that ends up keeping blood sugar levels lower.

DPP-4 is an enzyme that breaks down incretin hormones, which stimulate the production of insulin.

By inhibiting the action of DPP-4, drugs like Kombiglyze leave more incretin hormones free to do their job. Insulin levels stay higher, triggering the body’s tissues to absorb more sugar from the blood.

Study Suggests Link Between Kombiglyze and Cancer

Since DPP-4 inhibitors like Kombiglyze XR are relatively new, the medical community is still becoming familiar with what side effects these drugs can be expected to produce.

One study published in 2013 suggested a possible link between Kombiglyze and cancer. Researchers analyzed pancreatic tissue from several organ donors who had treated their diabetes with incretin-based drugs.

The researchers found small precancerous growths that, while benign, have the potential to become malignant. They also found an increased number of abnormal beta cells, the type of cells responsible for producing insulin.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer. It often produces no symptoms until it has already progressed substantially. So by the time it’s discovered, it tends to be very far advanced. In 90 percent of cases, the cancer has already metastasized by the time it’s diagnosed.

Treatment for pancreatic cancer may involve surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, like most other cancers.

It may only be necessary to remove the tumor itself, leaving the pancreas in place. In more advanced cases, it may be necessary to remove the entire pancreas and possibly some of the nearby organs as well.

There could also be a link between Kombiglyze and cancer by way of pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas that can sometimes lead to pancreatic cancer. Pancreatitis can compound the elevated risk of pancreatic cancer that diabetes patients already face.

The FDA added information about pancreatitis to the warning label for Kombiglyze and related incretin-based drugs in November 2011.

The new labeling was a response to several adverse event reports filed with the FDA describing cases in which patients suffered from acute pancreatitis after taking incretin-based drugs like Onglyza.

Pancreatitis can cause serious problems, even if it doesn’t lead to pancreatic cancer. Serious cases can lead to hospitalization or even death.