Diabetes drug may aid cancer treatment, say researchers

Researchers from University of Cincinnati, U.S., found that metformin could help cure certain cancers along with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)--multi-system genetic disease causing growth of mild tumors in the brain and other vital organs like kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs and skin.

According to study researchers, previous studies have provided evidence that people taking metformin seem to be guarded against certain types of cancers.

Details of the study
The study researchers established that to suppress the growth of cancerous cells, metformin acted via different set of enzymes--proteins controlling biochemical reactions.

An energy-deprivation agent prescribed to type-2 diabetics, metformin works by blocking glucose (sugar) production and increasing insulin-sensitivity. Insulin hormone regulates energy and glucose metabolism in the body.

Researchers noted that the anti-diabetic drug could also be used against TSC along with LAM (lymphangioleiomyomatosis), a rare lung-disease occurring in women.

In LAM, the muscle tissue obstructs small airways in the lungs, ultimately causing them to stop functioning.

It was also known that studies on another drug, rapamycin, have been done to verify it as a treatment for LAM and TSC.

However, the drug is known to lower the insulin levels in the body, with long-term usage.

Conversely, using metformin could suppress the tumor without prying with glucose control and aid in treating cancer, TSC and LAM, researchers stated.

Principal researcher, George Thomas, professor, cancer and cell biology department and scientific director, Metabolic Diseases Institute, University of Cincinnati stated that the findings contradicted earlier studies that regarded metformin-treatment for such diseases as non-useful.

Other findings
Besides, researchers found that metformin disables the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex by activating TSC proteins (tumor suppressors) through AMPK enzyme.

However, they also revealed that the enzyme causes reduced insulin-resistance.

In contrast, mTOR could be disabled with another enzyme RAG GTPase that has a crucial role in regulating cell growth and size, researchers found.

Daily News and Analysis (DNA) quoted Thomas as saying, “We’ve poked a hole in dogma. Scientists can and should go back and ask about things they had crossed off their list.”

Emphasizing that the findings could make broader use of metformin possible, Thomas told DNA, “Metformin is already prescribed to 100 million people worldwide, and our study raises the question, ‘Could this drug be used even more widely?’”

The study appears in the journal Cell Metabolism.