Niraparib induces hyperglycemia in ovarian cancer patients: a preliminary pilot study

TL;DR

This study finds that the cancer drug Niraparib can cause high blood sugar in ovarian cancer patients, with body mass index playing a role in the effect.

Contribution

The study is one of the first to investigate and report on Niraparib-induced hyperglycemia in ovarian cancer patients.

Findings

55% of patients showed impaired fasting glucose at some point during the study.

A significant interaction between BMI and time was found, indicating BMI influences hyperglycemia caused by Niraparib.

Hyperglycemia is identified as a potential adverse effect of Niraparib treatment.

Abstract

Niraparib (Nir) is a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) used in the maintenance treatment of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer (OC) patients, regardless of homologous recombination deficiency status. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing both OC and diabetes. Given this overlap, understanding the effect of Nir on glycemia is particularly important; however, it remains poorly understood.

The study included 22 normoglycemic OC patients. Fasting glucose (FG) concentrations were measured before therapy and after the second, third, and fourth treatment cycle (a cycle is approximately 28 days). A linear mixed-effects model treating body mass index (BMI) as a continuous variable was applied for statistical calculations.

Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (5.6–6.9 mmol/L) was observed in 55% of patients at some point during the study, and in 27% throughout its duration. A significant interaction between BMI and time was detected (p = 0.0412), with the influence of BMI on Nir-caused hyperglycemia increasing as the study progressed.

Hyperglycemia appears to be an adverse effect of Nir. As there is some indication that BMI may influence this effect, glycemic control is recommended, particularly in patients with an elevated BMI.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43440-025-00811-9.

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