Lung cancer cell with irregular bulges in the plasma membrane (purple) FLICKR, WELLCOME IMAGES
A diabetes drug that treats cancer
In the mid-2000s, epidemiologists began noticing that diabetics taking daily doses of metformin—the most widely prescribed medication for hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes—showed decreased cancer incidence and cancer-related mortality. Originally isolated from the French lilac (Galega officinalis), metformin lowers circulating insulin through the indirect activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)—a regulator of cellular metabolism.
At the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, held in Chicago this week, several research groups presented data supporting an inhibitory role for metformin in several types of cancers. The new studies suggest metformin could be adopted for both the prevention and treatment of metformin-sensitive cancers.
In a phase II clinical trial involving 22 men with prostate cancer, for example, thrice-daily doses ...
