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Metformin may treat ovarian cancer

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A drug that costs only 8p a day could be a major breakthrough in the prevention of ovarian cancer.

Metformin comes in tablet form and is widely used on the NHS to treat patients with type two diabetes.

Now a study of more than 1,600 British women reveals taking metformin for long periods could slash their risk of ovarian cancer by around 40 per cent.

Researchers found that women who had been prescribed metformin at least ten times for their diabetes were less likely to develop a tumour than women who never took the drug, or had been prescribed it fewer than ten times.

The findings, published in the journal Gynaecologic Oncology, come at a time when several research groups are investigating the anti-cancer properties of the cheap drug.

American scientists at Duke University in North Carolina are carrying out trials to see if giving metformin to obese women with high cholesterol and blood pressure can help to keep breast cancer at bay. German researchers are looking at whether it can help protect against breast tumours by boosting the immune system so it can destroy malignant cells before they take a hold.

The drug is also being tested against prostate and lung cancers.

But the latest investigation is the first to suggest it could have a protective effect against ovarian cancer, which kills 4,000 women a year in the UK.

Metformin

Metformin

Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland looked at ovarian cancer rates among metformin users because of mounting evidence it can fight off tumours.

The drug belongs to a class of medicines known as biguanides, which have been used for decades to treat type two diabetes – the form of the disease that normally affects the middle-aged or elderly.

Metformin works by reducing the glucose produced by the liver and helping cells mop up sugar that is circulating in the bloodstream. This prevents damage from excessive blood sugar levels. It can also decrease appetite and lower dangerous blood fat levels.

The Swiss team – using the UK’s General Practice Research Database – identified 1,611 ovarian cancer cases and matched each one to at least six other women of similar age, in order to compare their use of the diabetes drugs.


The results showed women who had used metformin for long periods were 39 per cent less likely to have developed a tumour on their ovaries.

It is thought the tablet combats cancer by restricting the growth of tumour cells, or by lowering levels of insulin, which can encourage cancer-like behaviour in healthy cells when too high.

However, the drug can have side-effects, ranging from nausea to a rare but potentially fatal condition called lactic acidosis, where the body’s cells become starved of oxygen.

Research leader Professor Christoph Meier said: ‘If these results can be confirmed, the drug may play a role in the prevention of various cancers.

‘It will be very interesting to see what role metformin could play in the future, but it’s too early to tell.’

Cancer drug derived from Crocus extract

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A drug derived from plant extracts could wipe out tumours in a single treatment with minimal side effects, according to research.

Scientists have turned a chemical found in crocuses into a ‘smart bomb’ that targets cancerous tumours.

Crucially, healthy tissue is unharmed, reducing the odds of debilitating side effects.

And unlike other side effect-free drugs, it is able to kill off more than one type of the disease, including breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer.

Potentially, all solid tumours could be vulnerable to drugs developed this way, meaning it could be used against all but blood cancers.

In some tests of the drug, half of tumours vanished completely after a single injection, the British Science Festival will hear this week.

The drug, based on colchicine, an extract from the autumn crocus, is at an early stage of development, and has so far been tested only on mice.

Crocus

Crocus

But the University of Bradford researchers are optimistic about its potential in humans.

Professor Laurence Patterson said: ‘What we have designed is effectively a “smart bomb” that can be triggered directly at any solid tumour without appearing to harm healthy tissue.

‘If all goes well, we would hope to see these drugs used as part of a combination of therapies to treat and manage cancer.’

Colchicine has long been known to have anti-cancer properties but has been considered too toxic for use in the human body. To get round this, the researchers attached a chemical ‘tail’ to it, deactivating it until it reaches the cancer.

Once there, the tail is cut off by an enzyme called MMP, which is found in tumours.


Removing the tail activates the drug, which then attacks and breaks down the blood vessels supplying the tumours with oxygen and nourishment.

Cancers use the blood supply to spread around the body and it is hoped that the treatment, called ICT2588, will also combat this.

The first tests on humans could start in as little as 18 months. If successful, the drug could be on the market in six to seven years.

Henry Scowcroft, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘This is exciting but very early work that hasn’t yet been tested in cancer patients.’

Professor Paul Workman, of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the results so far were promising.

He added: ‘If confirmed in more extensive laboratory studies, drugs based on this approach could be very useful as part of combination treatments.’