Two new studies published in the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research support earlier findings that suggest the diabetes drug metformin may play a role in cancer treatment.
Population studies have shown that diabetes patients receiving metformin are less prone to develop cancer. Metformin helps keep blood sugar steady by decreasing the liver’s glucose output and increasing the sugar’s use in muscle tissue. One of the new studies‚ conducted by Atsushi Nakajima of Yokohama City University School of Medicine in Japan and colleagues‚ looked at the effects of metformin on the development of aberrant crypt foci‚ tiny lesions in the colon that are precursors of polyps‚ which may lead to colon cancer. Compared to study subjects who used a placebo‚ those who used metformin had substantially fewer lesions in the bowel than they had when they started on the drug. It is not clear yet how metformin seems to inhibit cancer‚ and which cancers would be most susceptible. Earlier research showed that metformin could inhibit growth of breast cancer cells in a lab dish by awakening an enzyme called AMPK. This enzyme inhibits the activity of the protein mTOR‚ which is involved in cell growth and proliferation‚ which may at least partly explain metformin’s apparent anticancer effect.
(09/02/10)
Source: http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/news/diabetes-in-the-news/diabetes-drug-might-fight.html
