Insulin Sensitizers Help Lower Cancer Risk in Women with Type 2 Diabetes

A recent study led by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic shows that certain types of diabetes drugs can help to decrease the risk of cancer in female patients with type 2 diabetes by up to 32 percent.

Lead study author Sangeeta Kashyan, M.D., an endocrinologist and associate professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic's Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute, examined two groups of drugs that are typically used to treat the disease: Insulin sensitizers and insulin secretagoues.

Background information from the study notes that the sensitizers have effectively lowered blood sugar and insulin levels in the body through the increase of muscle, fat and the liver's response to the medication. Secretagogues, on the other hand, lower blood sugar levels through stimulation of pancreatic beta cells that create more insulin.

"What this study shows us is that using insulin secretagogues to increase insulin production correlates with an increased cancer risk in women with type 2 diabetes," said Kashyap, via a press release. "By contrast, insulin sensitizers cut insulin levels and can decrease cancer growth. So, clearly, when prescribing anti-diabetic medications, it's important to consider the impact a drug has on fueling cancer growth."

Researchers cross-indexed the electronic health record-based Cleveland Clinic Diabetes Registry of 25,613 patients with the histology-based tumor registry of 48,051 cancer occurrences over an eight year period, from 1998-2006. The study showed that over 890 incident cancer cases were identified with the two most common cases being prostate and breast cancers-accounting for more than 25 percent of the total cancer cases.

Findings showed that insulin sensitizers in female patients with type 2 diabetes were associated with a 21 percent decreased cancer risk when compared to the secretagogues. Furthermore, a specific type of insulin sensitizer, known as thiazolidinedione, was associated with an even higher decrease in cancer rates at 32 percent. Unfortunately, these medications showed no significant changes in men.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.