Popular anti-diabetic medicine can also reduce risk of blood cancer—Read on to know how – Healthcare News

A team of researchers from Denmark has found that a popular anti-diabetic medicine can also reduce the risk of blood cancer. According to the researchers, when people use the medicine, Metformin, it significantly lowers the risk of developing myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

MPN is a disorder in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, certain white blood cells, or platelets.

Metformin, a first-line of treatment for Type 2 Diabetes, effectively lowers blood glucose levels by decreasing glucose production in the liver. It also reduces intestinal absorption and enhances insulin sensitivity.

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The team of scientists found that the longer the duration that people used metformin, the lower their risk of developing MPNs. The findings of the study were published in the Blood Advances journal by the American Society of Hematology.

“We were surprised by the magnitude (strength) of the association we saw in the data,” Daniel T. Kristensen, a researcher at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark and the study’s lead author, said in a media release. “We saw the strongest effect in people who had taken metformin for more than five years compared to those who had taken the treatment for less than a year.”

It is noteworthy that MPN includes chronic myelogenous leukaemia and several other rare cancers that involve red blood cells, platelets or certain types of white blood cells called eosinophils and neutrophils. The disorders may cause anaemia, infections, bleeding problems and fatigue, among other symptoms.

The researchers emphasised that while the study team was unable to assess exactly why metformin seems to protect against the development of MPN, they hope additional research will be conducted to better understand why this may be.

“Moving forward, the researchers aim to identify any similar trends with myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia in population-level data for future study,” the study stated.