Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are medications with anti-inflammatory effects used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer and is characterized by elevated inflammatory status. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the potential association between SGLT2 inhibitor use and cervical cancer development. In this retrospective cohort study, female patients with T2DM were divided into 2 groups: SGLT2 inhibitor users and a control group of non-SGLT2 inhibitor users. After propensity score matching, the SGLT2 inhibitor group and control group each had 136 212 patients. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted to obtain the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for cervical cancer between the 2 groups. Overall, 148 and 191 cases of cervical cancer were identified in the SGLT2 inhibitor and control groups, respectively. The incidence of cervical cancer was significantly lower in the SGLT2 inhibitor group than in the control group (aHR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62-0.96, P = 0.0179). In a subgroup analysis stratified by type of oral medication, the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on cervical cancer development exhibited a significant difference compared with a biguanide group (aHR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95) and a sulfonylurea group (aHR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50-0.94) groups. In conclusion, the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with T2DM is associated with reduced risk of cervical cancer development.
Keywords: SGLT2 inhibitors; age; cervical cancer; epidemiology; type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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