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Diabetes drug may treat ovarian cancer: Study

Written by: QMI Agency
Dec. 3, 2012

Ball and stick model of metformin. (Wikimedia Commons/Fvasconcellos/HO)

Researchers at the Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic have found that a drug commonly used to treat diabetes could be an effective treatment for ovarian cancer.

Diabetic patients with ovarian cancer who took the drug metformin had a better survival rate than those who didn't, a new study has found.

Of those patients taking metformin, 67% survived after five years, compared with 47% of those who weren't taking the drug.

"Our study demonstrated improved survival in women with ovarian cancer that were taking metformin," study co-author Sanjeev Kumar said.

"The results are encouraging, but as with any retrospective study, many factors cannot be controlled for us to say if there is a direct cause and effect. Rather, this is further human evidence for a potential beneficial effect of a commonly used drug which is relatively safe in humans. These findings should provide impetus for prospective clinical trials in ovarian cancer."

 

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