Diabetes Drug Believed To Prevent Menopausal Women From Developing Cancer

There is a possibility that the cure for diabetes can also hamper cancer growth. Metformin, a type 2 diabetes drug, is found to have lowered post-menopausal women's risk of developing cancer.

 The information came from a study conducted by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, or RCPI, and the University of Buffalo. The research assessed around 146,000 post-menopausal women with ages 50 to 79 between 1993 and 1998, UPI reported.

Cancer Risks

Post-menopausal women who are diabetic were found to be more susceptible to colon and endometrial cancers. They also have higher risks of suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and liver and pancreatic cancers.

Metformin helps the body to be more responsive to insulin and lessen insulin resistance. The body requires insulin in order to acquire fuel from carbohydrate-laden food. Those who have type 2 diabetes are not capable of using insulin properly.

Zhihong Gong, the study's lead researcher, said the research didn't prove that metformin prevents or lessens the risk of fatal cancer, but there is potential in the medicine's possible ability to treat the disease. Clinical Diabetes Center director at Montefiore Medical Center Dr. Joel Zonszein said the study's findings depend on prolonged use of metformin.

Other Drugs Believed To Combat Cancer

An experimental drug called RO 48-8071, which is used to decrease cholesterol levels in the human body, is believed to treat prostate cancer as well, SBS wrote. University of Missouri professor Salman Hyder said prostate cancer cells in a laboratory died upon exposure to the compound.

When it was injected into mice with prostate cancer, the animal's tumor growth was curtailed. The diabetes medicine Jardiance, which controls sugar levels in the blood, is found to have positive effects to people who suffer from chronic heart failure.

According to AJMC, a study found that Jardiance lessens cardiovascular fatalities in diabetic patients by 38 percent and lowers the hospitalization rate of people with heart failure by 35 percent. Diabetic individuals are two to three times more susceptible to have heart disorders.

Aside from heart failures and cancer, another diabetes drug called liraglutide or Saxenda can help obese and pre-diabetic patients to shed off their weight without suffering from serious consequences like the risk of heart failure. That discovery was found by Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk from three years worth of collected data, Wired reported.

Liraglutide helps people lose weight by controlling an area of the brain to be more aware of the food they are consuming, especially if it's laden with too much calories. Science Daily wrote that liraglutide may also make enticing foods look less rewarding to eat.