Association between pioglitazone use and head and neck cancer: Population-based case-control study

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between pioglitazone use and the occurrence of head and neck cancer. Methods: Data for this case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 21 464 diabetic patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 64 392 comparison patients (3:1 ratio). Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of head and neck cancer with pioglitazone use in the 5 years preceding the cancer diagnosis. Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant difference in the prevalence of prior using pioglitazone between cases and controls (19.3% vs 18.5%, P <.001) was observed. Multiple regression analysis showed adjusted odds of pioglitazone use of 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02-1.10) among cases relative to controls. Conclusions: Prior pioglitazone use was associated with oral cavity cancer.