AUTHOR=Hsu Wei-Hao , Sue Shu-Ping , Liang Hsiu-Ling , Tseng Chin-Wei , Lin Hsiu-Chu , Wen Wei-Lun , Lee Mei-Yueh 

TITLE=Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors Decrease the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Study in Taiwan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.711723

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.711723

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitors) are incretin-based oral antidiabetic drugs. Previous studies have shown an association between increased plasma activity of DPP-4 and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors may be associated with preventing the development of chronic HCV infection. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of DPP-4 inhibitors is associated with a decreased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic HCV infection.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic HCV infection from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. The patients were divided into two groups (DPP-4 inhibitor cohort and non-DPP-4 inhibitor cohort) according to whether or not they received DPP-4 inhibitor treatment.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed a significantly lower risk of HCC in the patients who took DPP-4 inhibitors compared to those who did not. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated a significantly higher HCC-free rate in the DPP-4 inhibitor cohort than in the non-DPP-4 inhibitor cohort.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The use of DPP-4 inhibitors was associated with a lower risk of HCC in patients with type 2 DM and chronic HCV infection.</p>