"Magic pill" to inhibit pancreatic metformin progress

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, found a new mechanism to inhibit pancreatic diabetes drug metformin progress, relevant research results were published in international journals Plos One.

For this study, the most common form of pancreatic cancer - pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were studied emphatically. Currently the United States has about 40,000 people each year die from the disease, and a diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients in the presence of about half of overweight or obese, up to 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.

Studies have found that patients taking the diabetes medication metformin lower risk of suffering from pancreatic cancer, has been developed for patients with cancer and then taking metformin or may reduce the risk of death. But before this study scientists metformin it has been unclear how to resist the development of pancreatic cancer, nor found to respond to metformin potential biomarkers.

In this study, the researchers first found that for overweight or obese patients taking metformin for treatment, the tumor sample an extracellular matrix component - hyaluronic acid content than patients not taking metformin for 30% less. In obese mouse model of pancreatic cancer, it is possible to reduce the expression of Metformin 1 type hyaluronic acid and collagen, while the activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) is also less. The researchers used cultured cells to study found that metformin can inhibit signaling pathways PSC for the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and Type 1 collagen, but also prevents recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages.