As Onglyza continues to grow in its popularity as a treatment for type-2 diabetes, patients taking the popular drug should know that sometimes this medication does more than stabilize high blood sugar levels.

Many patients taking Onglyza have had past failures and controlling their blood sugar on other oral medications used to manage their diabetes.

Along with diet and exercise, Onglyza has been nothing short of a “miracle drug” for some individuals.

The medication has a reputation for being effective in controlling blood sugar levels, not causing hypoglycemia like other and is praised for not causing weight gain like its competitors.

With all of the positive aspects of diabetes control that Onglyza seems to offer, some may tend to overlook the serious potential side effects that have been associated with the drug, such as the link between Onglyza and pancreatic cancer.

Onglyza and Pancreatic Cancer

Onglyza (saxagliptin) was first approved in 2009 at the joint development between two pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The medication reached top-selling status, bringing in sales of more than $700 million by 2011.

Onglyza is an incretin mimetic which works by mimicking the incretin hormones in the body. These hormones produced by the body naturally stimulate insulin release by the pancreas following the ingestion of a meal.

It is hypothesized that because the pancreas is stimulated by the drug, changes in the pancreas can occur.

A study published in the medical journal Diabetes in 2013 found that the tissue in the pancreas of users of incretin mimetic drugs reflected increased pancreatic mass as well as cellular changes in the organ described as precancerous.

Physicians and patients have also reported instances of pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas, that have resulted from Onglyza use in patients. Pancreatitis is sometimes a precursor to developing pancreatic cancer at a later date.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer. It is a cancer that is typically diagnosed in a later stage, as the symptoms that present earlier in the disease progression are nonspecific and don’t directly point toward problems with the pancreas.

Patients with pancreatic cancer typically have a rapid progression of the disease and a poor prognosis.

Other Severe Onglyza Side Effects

In addition to the apparent link between Onglyza and pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, the diabetic medication has also been linked to thyroid cancer and heart failure.

Other incretin mimetic drugs like Onglyza were shown to demonstrate an increased risk of thyroid cancer in certain studies, and it is assumed that these drugs collectively can affect the thyroid.

Heart failure, or the body’s inability to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body, was looked at more closely by the FDA, and now warning labels appear on Onglyza detailing the risk of heart failure.

Filing an Onglyza and Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuit

If you or a loved one has developed pancreatic cancer as a result of Onglyza use, you may be eligible to receive legal compensation as a result of your injuries. An Onglyza lawyer can review your case at no charge and can help you decide if filing an Onglyza and pancreatic cancer lawsuit is right for you.