Researchers warn that one of the latest type-2 diabetes medications, Onglyza, may carry some serious health complication side effects including thyroid cancer.

Onglyza is an incretin mimetic drug. Incretin mimetic drugs like Onglyza have been under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a possible increased risk of thyroid cancer since their release into the market a few years ago.

Studies indicate a link between incretin mimetics, like Onglyza, and a greater rate of developing thyroid cancer based on clinical trials. In a study performed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), researchers found that incretin mimetic users were nearly five times more likely to develop thyroid cancer when compared to other diabetes medications.

In addition, the FDA has recently published safety concerns about the alleged increased risk of malignant thyroid tumors when used in rodents treated with Victoza, an incretin mimetic similar to Onglyza.

Onglyza Type-2 Diabetes Treatment

The newest diabetes medication Onglyza was FDA approved in 2009 as an effective treatment of increasing insulin within the body while not adding extra weight gain as a side effect. Onglyza quickly became a widely prescribed type-2 diabetes treatment.

However, the FDA soon began receiving consumer adverse event reports about serious Onglyza health complications. including heart failure, pancreatic and thyroid cancer. By April 2015, the agency issued a safety warning to Onglyza patients of the high risk of health complications, especially in regards to heart failure.

Onglyza Complications

Although Onglyza has not been specifically named in thyroid cancer cases, studies of other incretin mimetic drugs have shown a link between the drug family and thyroid cancer. In 2009, the FDA approved a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for the incretin mimetic Byetta to explore the possible risk of thyroid cancer.

Onglyza has also been found to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer as a serious side effect to the type-2 diabetes medication. Researchers analyzed the autopsies of diabetic patients by comparing those who took an incretin mimetic drug such as Onglyza compared to non-users. The study found that patients taking an incretin mimetic medication had a pancreas 40 percent larger than normal, which also showed the development of pre-cancerous cell growth and small tumors throughout.

Another study performed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that diabetic patients hospitalized with pancreatitis were twice as likely to be taking an incretin mimetic drug like Onglyza.

Onglyza has also been linked to an increased risk of heart failure. In a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that those patients taking Onglyza had an increased risk of heart complications by 27 percent when compared to patients taking other diabetes medications.

Onglyza Lawsuit Investigation

Although the diabetes medication has only been on the market for a few years, drug analyst predict Onglyza manufacturers will have a total profit of $2.47 billion by the year 2018, making it one of the most popular diabetic treatments on the market today.

However, as more studies indicate serious health risks associated with Ongylza, many patients are accusing the manufacturers of allegedly failing to warn consumers of the potentially life-threatening side effects of the type-2 diabetes medication.