Metformin- cancer benefits on one page

Ladies,
Since some of you are asking me to post my list on the benefits of metformin. Below is a list of 13 ways that metformin
targets cancer.  There are other many other processes involved but I'll start with some of the basics.

Most people are aware of metformin as the leading diabetes drug in the world.  It was first approved in Europe in the 1950s;
then Canada in the 1970s- it was approved for diabetes treatment in the US in 1995. 

Below is a list of 13 anti-cancer benefits of metformin- all this data was derived from various medical journal articles
published at the website of the National Institutes of Health - www.pubmed.gov. It is the web site that doctors use.
I would recommend this site if you want to delve deeper into some of the items below.  

1) Metformin lowers blood glucose (improves insuln sensitivity). It is most well known for being given to diabetics to
lower blood sugar.  84million people in the US are pre-diabetic (blood glucose between 100-125). This is considered
pre-diabetes.  Metformin can prevent you from advancing to full-blown diabetes if you are pre-diabetic. Diabetes is
a key risk factor for many cancers, including endometrial cancer.

2) Metformin regulates insulin levels- high insulin levels are a key driver of cancer. 

3) Metformin lowers insulin like growth factor levels (IGF-1) IGF-1 is considered a fertilizer for cancer growth and is usually raised at
the diagnois of endometrial cancer.  It is very important to get this blood test on a regular basis to measure for cancer and
cancer recurrence. IGF-1 is made in the liver, one of the key locations for cancer metastasis. The liver also stores glucose
and iron.  The liver is where the food supply is for cancer.

4) Metformin inactivates the PI3K/Akt/Mtor pathway - this pathway is mutated in over 90% of all cancers and over 80% of
all endometrial cancers-  this pathway regulates insulin- so if metformin regulates insulin, you can see why it is so
beneficial for many cancer patients.  Any woman with endometrial cancer should have genomic testing to test for all
mutation variants of this pathway. Metformin might help you if your pathway is activated.  There are some cancer drugs
already targeting this pathway (Everolimus, Temsirolius and many more in development, but so far they have not seen
good results with these cancer drugs. High IGF-1 levels and loss of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN are believed to
activate this pathway (see #3). So you start to see how this is all tied together. If you have high IGF-1 levels, perhaps
that caused the mutation of your pathway, or loss of PTEN.

5) Metformin inhibits angiogenesis- the formation of new blood vessels that feed the cancer- if you have metastasis, you
have angiogenesis- Avastin targets angiogenesis with little success.  Cancer cells alone aren't the problem- it's when
billions of cancer cells come together to form a tumor with angiogenesis, that you actually have cancer.  Angiogenesis is
the process needed for those cancer cells to form a tumor. The blood vessels deliver the food supply to the tumor.

6) Metformin decreseases VEGF- Vasular Endothelial Growth Factor- causes angiogenesis - see #5

8) Metformin targets cancer stem cells- these are the cells left behind that cause new cancer to form and are believe to be
the cause of chemo resistance.  It is believed that chemotherapy kills the daughter cells but not the cancer stem cells that
go on to grow new cancer - there is no cancer drug that targets cancer stem cells

9) Metformin establishes expression of TP53- this is the key tumor suppressor in our bodies and is frequently turned off
in cancer.  It is frequently mutated in endometrial serous adenocarcinoma.

10) Metformin inhibits the WNT pathway- this is another pathway frequently mutated in endometrial cancer - many cancers
have a mutation of this pathway- there are no available cancer drugs that target this important pathway.
This pathway is also involved in triple negative breast cancer.

11) Metformin inhibits NFKB-NF-KappaB-  this is the inflammatory pathway- it is a key target in cancer therapy. Inflammation
is one of the key drivers of cancer, along with many other diseases.  Research into notch activation is of growing clinical
and commercial relevance.

12) Metformin reverses EMT - endothelial to mesenchymal transition - a critical process involved in cancer metastasis

13) Metformin inhibits estrogen production in women without diabetes- good for women with breast cancer

 

As you can see, the reason that metformin has been shown to be successful in treating many different cancers is because it
addresses moany of the key processes involved in the feeding, creation and spread of cancer.  The pharmaceutical companies
are trying to develop cancer drugs that do what metformin already does.  You would have to take about ten different drugs to
get the benefits of what metformin does in one pill (if those drugs existed). Even if you don't have high blood sugar, you can see
all the things that metformin does to stop cancer. Personally, I was pre-diabetic when first diagnosed with EC. Metformin attacks
cancer from many directions, not just one. You still may have other factors driving your cancer, but metformin may help 
address many of the cancer causing processes in general. You need to address as many of the factors as you can that are 
driving your cancer

Many of the studies have shown that metformin prevents you from dlying from cancer. That doesn't mean it will put everyone in compete remission
but perhaps it will slow down your cancer or lead to a longer progression free survival (without having to get more dangerous chemo
or radiation or surgery).

Hope this is helpful is learning about some of the key pathways and processes involved in cancer formation and metastasis.  It is important
to understand what cancer is so you can utilize the proper treatment for your particular situation.

Takingcontrol58