Didn't want to put this in the adjunctive therapy forum because is an actual clinical trial - at mayo, and here in Toronto. I tend to get poopooed a lot when I suggest a connection between cancer and diet - particularly sugar intake, but I found this interesting. It started off as a trial aimed at ovarian cancer but now they are trying it on some of the biggies - like pancreatic, breast etc..
The use of metaformin, (a diabetes drug - used to stabilize blood sugar) is now being used in conjuction with other therapy with good results. Since for most of us diabetes is not a part of the picture - rather than taking a pill, try eating naturally, limiting sugars -white sugar in particular, try staying away from over processed junk food, and prepared foods from a can or box etc.. - not saying its a cure but it can't hurt.
Just thought that there must be some connection if even the medical world is getting in on dealing with diet-sugar-as a treatment.
Hugs all stay healthy or if you're still fighting more power to you.

[quote]Research studies strongly suggest that the central mechanism of anti-proliferative action of metformin is via activation of liver kinase B1 (LKB1)-AMPK pathway, which has emerged as an attractive and widely studied target for cancer therapeutics.[/quote]

What this means is that metformin is an agent that is being studied for it's apparent ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells by interfering with the cancer cell's cycle. It is unrelated to dietary sugar intake.

Metformin is also used in HIV patients to combat insulin resistance brought on by the use of drugs and has nothing to do with sugar intake. Metformin has also been shown to decrease lipid levels to prevent cardiovascular disease - again, nothing to do with sugar.

A balanced diet is a good idea of course, but these trials do not support any suggestion that eating naturally and limiting sugars might avoid the use of metformin.

Or that eating sugar causes cancers to grow.

Actually something I recently read suggests that metaformin starves the cancer cells by preventing the uptake of sugar. Even the experts don't know for sure - why its successful which is what the research is about -. One thing that we do know is that cancers cells are sugar hogs - because they are so highly metabolic. This is why they are doing the trials,

Metformin is an insulin sensitiser which increases the number of insulin receptors thereby allowing improved uptake of glucose. Completely the opposite to what you have read. The quote below comes directly from the FDA approved product information.

[quote]Metformin is an oral biguanide hypoglycaemic agent. It causes an increased peripheral uptake of
glucose by increasing the biological efficiency of available exogenous or endogenous insulin.[/quote]

Interesting - ill look into it - I do know what most diabetes drugs do - most are designed as you said to prod the cells into taking up the glucose as opposed to leaving it floating in the blood stream.

Metformin and Placitaxel is being used in a phase II Clinical trial in Brazil for Recurrent or Metatstic Head and Neck Cancer. I used Metformin when I was first diagnosed with diabetes in the 90's, and is usually the first line of treatment in type II diabetes. Unfortionetly, as with most oral diabetes medications, they stop working sometimes, and I went on insulin, but maybe I'll look into adding it.

Anyway, hopefully there are additional findings with Metformin, which I believe is only being used with chemo in clinical trials now. it seems to may be of benefit to breast, pancreatic, liver, even oral cancer. In addition to what Karen mentioned, somehow it helps tumors to be more radiosensitive, which some cancers are, which is thought by some to be caused by Cancer Stem Cells or Cancer Like Stem Cells, which is another new area of research, and which Metformin is being studied for.

As far as tumors, they need nutrients and new blood supplies in order to proliferate, and this area, angiogenesis, is being studied, along with hypoxia, which occurs as the tumor grows, causing tumors to be chemo and radio resistant.

Thanks.