Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Diabetes drug costing just 2p could beat prostate cancer


A diabetes drug costing as little as 2p a tablet could offer a major breakthrough in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Research has shown that the medicine, called metformin, causes tumors to shrink by slowing the rate at which cancerous cells grow.

If the results are confirmed in bigger trials, it raises the possibility that men could be given the cheap, readily available drug as soon as they are diagnosed.

Nearly 40,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK and 10,000 men die from it – the equivalent of more than one an hour.

The risks of developing a tumor increase with age, and there is a strong genetic element to the disease.

Metformin is widely used on the NHS to treat patients with type 2 diabetes.

But recent studies highlighting the drug’s effects against a variety of tumors have generated considerable excitement among cancer researchers looking for powerful new treatments.

Last year, scientists discovered it could slash the risk of ovarian cancer by around 40 per cent.

And Cancer Research UK is currently funding a major five-year study, involving early 5,000 British women with breast cancer, to see if the drug will stop the disease returning and boost survival rates.

Other research teams around the world are investigating metformin’s powers against skin, lung and pancreatic cancer, with promising early results.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.