Re: Re: Diabetes Drug Metformin Linked to Lower Lung Cancer Rate in Mice

[Guest guest]

Hi SuziQ

I saw this article and immediately thought of you.

I also found it very interesting that Metaformin is now being looked at is use with cancer treatments too, because a lot of liver patients do go into the cancer mode....like Gloria did.

And a whole lot of us smoke cigarettes and may be facing some sort of lung cancer as our bodies weaken from the HCV.

I just love all the new medical developements comming out.

Its so exciting.

love

don in ks

From: SuziQ <ancientkron@...>Subject: [ ] Re: Diabetes Drug Metformin Linked to Lower Lung Cancer Rate in Mice Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 8:39 PM

Thanks Don,I really appreciate your posting on metformin. Looks like it helps more than diabetes and Hep C. Since diabetes is more prevalent with Hep C, is anyone having routine A1C test done?? It shows blood sugar levels for the last three months. Diabetes symptoms are similar to Hep C symptoms. I have felt sooo much better since I started on metformin. My blood sugar was WAY out of control.SuziQ>> Diabetes Drug Metformin Linked to Lower Lung Cancer Rate in Mice> > WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A drug widely used to treat high blood sugar in type 2 diabetics may hold some promise in the

prevention of tobacco-induced lung cancer, according to extremely preliminary findings in a mouse study.> In the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research, researchers report that metformin was associated with a substantial reduction (up to 73%) in the number of tumors mice developed when they were given a common carcinogen found in tobacco. > Despite the fact that there have been no randomized controlled trials on whether metformin really can prevent cancer, researchers expressed excitement both over this animal study and previous epidemiological evidence pointing to this possibility. > Metformin (originally marketed as Glucophage, though it is now available as an inexpensive generic) has been in use for more than two decades and is currently prescribed to 40 million Americans. > "This is a very safe agent and has been around for a while," said Cancer Prevention Research editor-in-chief Dr. Lippman, chair of

thoracic head and neck medical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Cancer Center in Houston, at a Wednesday news conference. > "The evidence in diabetic humans is very convincing and very strong," added Dr. Dennis, a senior investigator with the U.S. National Cancer Institute and senior author on the lung cancer paper. "Almost every epidemiological study I can think of found a decreased cancer incidence in diabetics taking metformin. The reduction is real and ranges from 30 to 70%." > The researchers thought metformin's possible cancer-lowering properties suggested the need for clinical trials to investigate whether the drug might help prevent tumors in smokers at high risk of developing cancer. Others believed that the finding might influence the choice of drugs in people with diabetes.> "All other things being equal, many diabetics face a choice of oral agents, and early evidence that metformin may have an

effect on the oncology side may increasingly play a role in decision-making," said Dr. Pollack, professor of medicine and oncology at McGill University in Montreal. "We can't ignore this, but we can't say we have FDA [u.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval for metformin for cancer indications."> Metformin was developed from the French lilac plant, known in the Middle Ages to control excess urination, a symptom of uncontrolled diabetes. The drug was approved by the FDA in the mid-1990s. > The study by Dennis and colleagues looked at mice that had been genetically engineered to be susceptible to lung tumors. > Mice taking metformin in their drinking water had 34% fewer tumors than those not taking metformin. And when the drug was administered by injection, the improvement seen was 73%. > > > http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=119347> > >------------------------------------