Diabetes drug could have cancer influence

According to diabetes news reports today, diabetes drug metformin could have a side effect of boosting cancer vaccines. The drug, commonly prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes to aid their body in managing blood glucose, was given to mice alongside an experimental cancer vaccine.
The report, published in journal Nature, showed that metformin helped boost T-cell response – the cells that remember infections and help the body to fight them. The research team were from McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Russell Jones reportedly commented: “Many genes involved in diabetes regulation also play a role in cancer progression. There is also a significant body of data suggesting that diabetics are more prone to certain cancers. However, our study is the first to suggest that by targeting the same metabolic pathways that play a role in diabetes, you can alter how well your immune system functions.”