Glucagon like peptide‐1 receptor agonists and the risk of skin cancer among patients with type 2 diabetes: Population‐based cohort study

Abstract

AimsThe objective of this study was to determine whether the use of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs) is associated with an increased risk of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, separately, compared with the use of sulfonylureas among patients with type 2 diabetes.Materials and MethodsUsing the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink (2007‐2019), we assembled two new‐user active comparator cohorts. In the first cohort assessing melanoma as the outcome, 11,786 new users of GLP‐1 RAs were compared with 208,519 new users of sulfonylureas. In the second cohort assessing nonmelanoma skin cancer as the outcome, 11,774 new users of GLP‐1 RAs were compared with 207,788 new users of sulfonylureas. Cox proportional hazards models weighted using propensity score fine stratification were fit to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, respectively.ResultsCompared with sulfonylureas, GLP‐1 RAs were not associated with an increased risk of either melanoma (42.6 vs. 43.9 per 100,000 person‐years, respectively; HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.53‐1.75) or nonmelanoma skin cancer (243.9 vs. 229.9 per 100,000 person‐years, respectively; HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.80‐1.33). There was no evidence of an association between cumulative duration of use with either melanoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer. Consistent results were observed in secondary and sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsIn this population‐based cohort study, GLP‐1 RAs were not associated with an increased risk of melanoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer, compared with sulfonylureas.