Diabetes Drug May Help Fight Breast Cancer

A pharmaceutical called Metformin strengthens treatment response in breast cancer patients. (Source: Cancer Wise).

Clinical trials suggest that the drug, most often prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, also may help fight the disease, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

"The is the first study involving metformin as a possible cancer-fighting agent for diabetics with cancer," stated a press release from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "More than 35 million prescriptions are filled each year for the oral medication, one of the most prescribed drugs in this country."

Using the Center's Breast Medical Oncology database, a record of patients who have been treated for breast cancer at the facility, researchers identified 2,529 women who had breast cancer and received chemotherapy before surgery. The patients included 87 diabetics taking metformin, 68 diabetics ingesting the drug, and 2,374 nondiabetics, stated cancerwise.org.

Ages of patients ranged from 21 to 87 years old, with a median age of 49. The cancer-free rate was highest in diabetic women who were taking metformin, the release stated.

The cancer-free patients included 24 percent of the diabetics on metformin, eight percent of the diabetics not taking the drug, and 16 percent of the nondiabetics, research shows.

"Researchers caution that while these results are exciting, the findings are early," reveals the press release. "M.D. Anderson plans to open a clinical trial with metformin in combination with hormonal therapy for metastatic breast cancer patients who are obese."