Pioneering research has found that a common diabetes drug could reduce the debilitating side effects of prostate cancer drugs.
Hormone therapy, which involves taking tablets that limit the production of the male sex hormone testosterone, is one of the most common and effective treatments for prostate cancer.
However, it can also cause weight gain and increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
But metformin, a type 2 diabetes drug, has been shown to halve weight gain and lower blood sugar and cholesterol in patients when taken along with cancer treatment.
Researchers from centers across the UK examined the influence of metformin on hormonal side effects in more than 1,800 men.
A common diabetes drug could reduce the debilitating side effects of prostate cancer drugs, according to pioneering research (File Image)
Hormone therapy, which involves taking pills that limit the production of the male sex hormone testosterone, is one of the most common and effective treatments for prostate cancer (file image)
Over seven years, the drug – the most popular treatment for type 2 diabetes in the UK – has been shown to significantly improve the way the body processes energy from sugars and fats.
By helping the body use insulin more effectively and lowering blood sugar levels, metformin reduces the body’s tendency to store excess glucose as fat.
Around 55,000 UK men a year are diagnosed with prostate cancer. It kills about 12,000 patients during the same period.
One of the most common treatments is hormone therapy, which involves blocking the production of testosterone, which helps prostate cancer grow.
Hormone therapy cannot cure the disease, but it can give patients extra years of life or slow the growth of tumors in time to remove them with radiation therapy or surgery.
Professor Noel Clarke, consultant urologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, in Manchester, called the latest research a “landmark trial”.
“Hormonal therapies, although very effective for prostate cancer, carry unwanted side effects that negatively affect patients’ health and quality of life,” he said.
‘It’s great to see that a cheap and effective diabetes drug can be used in this way.
“I hope this new use will be quickly available on the NHS so that more patients can benefit.”
