Diabetes drug metformin reduces the risk of lung cancer

A growing body of new research shows a popular diabetes drug called metformin can reduce the risk of lung cancer, researchers said Wednesday.

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Philip Dennis of the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, studied metformin in mice exposed to a potent, cancer-causing agent in tobacco called nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone or NNK.

Mice treated orally with metformin had 40-50 percent less lung tumors than untreated mice, although those treated by injection had almost three-quarters fewer tumors, the findings issued in Cancer Prevention Research said.

Although there have been no randomized controlled trials on whether metformin actually can prevent cancer, the research team showed excitement both over this animal study and previous epidemiological evidence pointing to this possibility.

In another study, metformin was shown to trigger an enzyme that is identified to inhibit a protein that regulates cell growth and survival in tobacco-induced lung tumours.

Dr. Dennis and his to want to test metformin in smokers to see if it will prevent them from getting tumors related to smoking. If metformin indeed lowers the chance of getting lung cancer for diabetics, it could be the first drug treatment that could prevent smoking-related cancer before it takes hold. Yet, even if shown successful, the drug will not discourage other smoking-related illnesses, including heart problems and emphysema.

, researchers said Wednesday.

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Philip Dennis of the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, studied metformin in mice exposed to a potent, cancer-causing agent in tobacco called nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone or NNK.

Mice treated orally with metformin had 40-50 percent less lung tumors than untreated mice, although those treated by injection had almost three-quarters fewer tumors, the findings issued in Cancer Prevention Research said.

Although there have been no randomized controlled trials on whether metformin actually can prevent cancer, the research team showed excitement both over this animal study and previous epidemiological evidence pointing to this possibility.

In another study, metformin was shown to trigger an enzyme that is identified to inhibit a protein that regulates cell growth and survival in tobacco-induced lung tumours.

Dr. Dennis and his to want to test metformin in smokers to see if it will prevent them from getting tumors related to smoking. If metformin indeed lowers the chance of getting lung cancer for diabetics, it could be the first drug treatment that could prevent smoking-related cancer before it takes hold. Yet, even if shown successful, the drug will not discourage other smoking-related illnesses, including heart problems and emphysema.