Objective: Incretin hormones are classified in hypoglycemic gastrointestinal hormone group. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 enzyme (DPP-4) inactivates incretins. DPP-4 inhibitors prevent the collapse of incretins and balance the increasing blood glucose. Saxagliptin and sitagliptin are the new members of this family (DPP-4 inhibitor). It was reported that the DPP-4 inhibitors have effects on blood glucose levels, and they also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study was conducted to investigate the anti-cancer properties of saxagliptin and sitagliptin, which are the members of DPP-4 inhibitor family.

Materials & Methods: The human ovary (A2780), human breast (MCF-7) and human prostate (PC-3 and LNCaP) cancer cell lines were used in the study. The changes occurring in the cell viability for 24 h in all cell lines in 1, 5, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL of saxagliptin and sitagliptin 1, 5, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL concentrations were determined with the 3-(4,5-dimethylimidazole-2-il)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay method. According to the MTT assay results, the inhibiting concentration 50 (LogIC50) value was calculated in the Graphpad Prism 6 Program.

Results: It was determined that the sitagliptin and saxagliptin that were incubated with cancer cells (A2780, MCF-7, PC-3 and LNCaP) for 24 h caused significant decreases in the viability of the cancer cells (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The results of the present study show that the saxagliptin and sitagliptin, which were tested, have antitumor activity on A2780, MCF-7, PC-3 and LNCaP cells.