Metformin May Improve Pancreatic Cancer Prognosis in Patients With Diabetes

Patients with diabetes and pancreatic cancer who are prescribed metformin may have improved survival compared with those not prescribed the commonly used diabetic agent, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Although the causes of pancreatic cancer remain largely unknown, patients with pancreatic cancer often have a high prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance.

“This study suggests that metformin use in patients with diabetes was associated with improved pancreatic cancer survival, so we should certainly begin study of its supplemental use in pancreatic cancer treatment,” said Donghui Li, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

In a retrospective study, Li and colleagues observed 302 patients with diabetes and pancreatic cancer; of which 117 were prescribed metformin.

At one year, the researchers found that 63.9 percent of the patients prescribed metformin were still alive, while 46.3 percent of the group not prescribed metformin survived.

By two years, 30.1 percent of the metformin group remained alive compared with 15.4 percent of the non-metformin group. Median survival was 15.2 months for patients prescribed metformin and 11.1 months for patients not prescribed metformin. Those prescribed metformin had a 32 percent reduced risk for death.

Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest form of cancer because it is very hard to diagnose and it is not a confined cancer. The survival rate is the worst of any cancer but it usually depends on the prognosis or the stage of the disease.

Pancreatic cancer is diagnosed the same as most other cancers; stage I, stage II, stage III, and stage IV. There is not a single form of cancer today that there is a cure for. There are over a hundred different types of cancer and not one cure. The most a doctor can do is surgically remove the cancer and provide certain treatments to prevent any cancer cells from coming back or spreading throughout the body.

The reason pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate and life longevity is because the cancer is not confined to only the pancreas. Cancer grows very rapidly and if it is not found early, it cannot be treated. The majority of people diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas usually find out too late. Progression is the leading factor to whether you will begin a treatment plan or a pain relief plan for your cancer.

This protective effect was evident at all disease stages, with the exception of metastatic disease where metformin appeared to have no measurable effect.

Li suggested that metformin was acting on the insulin resistance observed in both diabetes and pancreatic cancer, as well as on the AMPK/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and said a randomized clinical trial is warranted.