Which Drug Commonly Prescribed For Type 2 Diabetes Helps Prevent Cancer?

If you have type 2 diabetes, you also have a greater risk of developing many kinds of cancer. A new study reported by researchers in the Netherlands, however, concludes that metformin may protect type 2 diabetics against cancer.

Insulin is not just a blood sugar transporter… it is also a growth hormone that effects many parts of your body, in fact your entire body. One of those effects is to stimulate cell growth. Cancer cells, especially breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancer cells, grow faster when they are exposed to more or higher levels of insulin. Injected insulin and excessive insulin production by your body in response to insulin resistance, have the same effect.

Then there is evidence from animal studies that insulin, particularly long-acting insulin, may cause existing cancer cells to grow faster!

Metformin increases your liver’s sensitivity to insulin so that less insulin is needed to store the same amount of blood sugar. Metformin was first discovered in the late 1950′s and is the generic name of the drug marketed as Glucophage. In Europe it has been used since the 1970′s to control the blood sugar levels of people with type 2 diabetes and has been prescribed in the US since the 1990′s.

The ZODIAC, (Zwolle Outpatient Diabetes project Integrating Available Care), followed 1,353 diabetics for ten years. The people with type 2 diabetes who took at least 850mg metformin a day were 46 to 54% less likely to have died of cancer during the ten years of the study. Type 2 diabetics who took 2,000mg of metformin a day were 88 to 96% less likely to have died of cancer during the study. Type 2 diabetics who took metformin also had a lower BMI than diabetics who took other medications… that is they weighed less than those who did not take metformin.

The Dutch researchers did not study people with type 2 diabetes who successfully managed their blood sugar levels with diet and exercise alone. So, if you are seeking a medication to help you with control of your blood sugar levels, your appetite and hence your weight, and with the added benefit of maybe reducing cell growth that could lead to cancer, metformin is probably a good first choice. Actually the current American Diabetes Association practice recommendations state that metformin should be the first drug prescribed for a person with type 2 diabetes.

It would be a wise move though to always discuss with your health care provider which medications are suitable for you. Although there are added benefits to taking metformin immediately post-diagnosis, by losing weight and lowering your blood sugar levels, your insulin levels will also naturally be lower reducing the possibility of faster cancer cell growth.

Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?

To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.

Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes. http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com/blog Copyright. (c) 2010 Beverleigh H Piepers RN – All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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