A new population-based case-control study in Denmark found that people taking Metformin, a type 2 diabetes treatment drug are less likely to develop myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) – a rare type of blood cancer in which the bone marrow overproduces blood cells i.e. the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. This condition can also lead to organ damage, serious bleeding problems, or can even develop into acute leukemia.
The study was published in Blood Advances, American Society of Hematology.
Metformin is known for its glucose-lowering properties. This drug has been used for decades to help treat and manage type 2 diabetes by boosting insulin production, a hormone that helps in reducing blood sugar.
According to studies published in 2023, Metformin is beneficial beyond diabetes. An article in the Journal of Translational Medicine states that this drug may also have some benefit for gum disease. University of Utah Health researchers have found that this drug can also prevent muscular atrophy and muscular fibrosis. This drug has also been successful in limiting the development risk of the COVID-19 virus according to a University of Minnesota study.
The study’s senior author, Dr. Anne Stidsholt Roug, chief physician at Aarhus University Hospital and clinical associate professor at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark said that their team was interested in finding out what other effects commonly used treatment drugs like metformin have.
Dr. Roug and colleagues tried to find an association between metformin use and the risk of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). It was the anti-inflammatory factor of metformin that caught their eye as MPNs are inflammatory diseases.
The study included cases of MPN diagnosed between 2010 and 2018 and also found those who had been using metformin before the MPN diagnosis.
The researchers utilized data from Danish health registries to compare 3816 cases of MPN against a control group of 19,080 who did not have MPN.
The results showed that 8.2% of the non-MPN control group had taken metformin, compared to 7% in the MPN group. Moreover, 2% of the control group had taken metformin for a longer duration (>5), compared to the 1.1% in the MPN group.
It was concluded that those who used metformin had lower odds of an MPN i.e. blood cancer diagnosis. Therefore, this drug can potentially be used as an antineoplastic and cancer-preventive agent.
The researchers were amazed by the observed results and the link between metformin and blood cancer. The strongest results were seen in individuals who had taken metformin for more than 5 years than those who had taken it for less than a year as explained by Dr. Daniel Tuyet Kristensen, a PhD student at Aalborg University Hospital and the lead author of the study. He also added that these results make sense as MPN develops over the years.
Dr. Kristensen, Dr. Roug, and their team emphasized that further investigation would be needed as this study was restricted due to its retrospective design, and certain lifestyle factors that influence the risk of cancer like smoking, diet, or obesity were not considered either.
Researchers are now aiming to identify such trends in MPN and acute leukemia in population-level data.
https://ashpublications.org/bloodadvances/article/doi/10.1182/bloodadvances.2023012266/516127/Metformin-use-and-risk-of-myeloproliferative
Petrocelli, J. J., McKenzie, A. I., De Hart, N. M. M. P., Reidy, P. T., Mahmassani, Z. S., Keeble, A. R., Kaput, K. L., Wahl, M. P., Rondina, M. T., Marcus, R. L., Welt, C. K., Holland, W. L., Funai, K., Fry, C. S., & Drummond, M. J. (2023). Disuse‐induced muscle fibrosis, cellular senescence, and senescence‐associated secretory phenotype in older adults are alleviated during re‐ambulation with metformin pre‐treatment. Aging Cell, 22(11), e13936. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13936
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00299-2/fulltext
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Aditi Madathingal/SB)
