ad

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Can Metformin Cure Cancer as Well as Diabetes?

Drug companies have been struggling to bring new cancer drugs to the market. They spend billions of dollars each year researching new treatments. However, most of them never receive FDA approval. Fortunately, some drugs already on the market may be able to help cure cancer. One drug may be Metformin.

Metformin is a diabetes drug that was approved by the FDA nearly 20 years ago. Researchers have noted that patients taking the medication have had a lower incidence of cancer than those who were not.

Initially, this phenomenon was attributed to the fact that most people taking the medication had reduced insulin levels. Previous research had found that higher insulin levels were correlated with  the risk of developing cancer. Health professionals have tried reducing the risk of diabetic patients developing cancer by keeping their insulin levels in check.

Metformin for Cancer Treatment?

In 2006, Canadian medical scientists discovered Metformin might play another role in the treatment of cancer. These researchers discovered that the drug may also increase the production of a key enzyme known to inhibit tumor production. Over the last few years, they have looked into the phenomenon further, assessing whether Metformin may actually be an effective medication for treating certain forms of cancer.

No comments:

Post a Comment