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AN anti-diabetes drug reduced tumours faster and prolonged remission further than chemotherapy when tested on mice, apparently by targeting cancer stem cells, a new report by Harvard Medical School has found.
The report, published in the online journal Cancer Research, argued that the drug metformin may improve breast cancer survival rates.
"We have found a compound selective for cancer stem cells," said senior author Kevin Struhl, a professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. "What's different is that ours is a first-line diabetes drug."
In this study, the diabetes drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes.
The combination of metformin and the cancer drug doxorubicin killed human cancer stem cells and non-stem cancer cells in culture, the report said.
