Combination therapy of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and insulin for patients who developed diabetes after partial pancreatectomy

Aims/Introduction: It is known that after pancreatectomy, patients experience hyposecretion of endogenous insulin and frequently develop diabetes. However, it has been unclear whether combination therapy with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and basal insulin is effective for such patients. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with long-acting insulin glargine and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide in patients who developed diabetes after pancreatectomy. Materials and Methods: Japanese patients who developed diabetes after pancreatectomy were eligible for this study. Participants were treated with combination therapy of glargine and lixisenatide for 12 weeks. Fasting and postprandial plasma glucose, C-peptide immunoreactivity, glycated hemoglobin, bodyweight, visceral fat and subcutaneous fat were measured. Results: At 12 weeks after initiation of lixisenatide, glycated hemoglobin levels decreased from 8.46 +/- 1.64% to 6.81 +/- 1.15%. In addition, 1-h postprandial plasma glucose and 2-h postprandial plasma glucose levels significantly decreased from 222.9 +/- 56.2 mg/dL to 125.1 +/- 37.5 mg/dL (P < 0.001) and from 247.5 +/- 56.8 mg/dL to 115.1 +/- 29.0 mg/dL (P < 0.001), respectively. Neither hypoglycemia nor clinically relevant adverse events occurred during this study. Conclusions: The present study shows that combination therapy with basal insulin and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists after partial pancreatectomy can be a useful therapeutic option for providing effective glycemic control with a reduced risk of hypoglycemia.