Diabetes drugs show promise for treating prostate cancer

Diabetes drugs show promise for treating prostate cancer

An international team of scientists from the Medical University of Vienna has identified similarities in the mechanisms of diabetes and cancer: As the researchers show, the protein PPARγ, which is central to the regulation of metabolic processes, can also influence the growth of prostate cancer cells. It is already known that PPARγ is a target of certain medicines for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The results of the study, published in the leading journal Molecular Cancer, show that such drugs could also represent a promising approach to treating prostate cancer.

PPARγ has been known in diabetes research for some time because it has an influence on insulin sensitivity. For more than 20 years, the protein has been the target of certain drugs, including the so-called thiazolidinates such as pioglitazone, used to treat type 2 diabetes. In the search for new, targeted therapeutic approaches for tumors, cancer research has also been investigating this for several years. PPARγ (Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in the regulation of metabolic processes, inflammatory responses and cell growth as a gene activator. As the research team led by Lukas Kenner (Clinical Department of Pathology at Meduni Vienna) has now shown, it is also linked to the growth of prostate cancer.

Altered growth behavior of tumor cells

The researchers came to this conclusion by studying cell cultures and tissue samples from patient cohorts. They analyzed how different activation states of the protein affect the cells. "The diabetes drug pioglitazone has been shown to inhibit the activity of PPARγ the growth behavior and metabolism of tumor cells. In addition, the initial results showed that prostate cancer patients with diabetes treated with PPARγ agonists at the time of data collection showed the formation of authusigens and the First author-Attas-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-ATAS-MITAS-ATAS-ATAS, not in the prostate cancer therapy).

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Despite enormous medical advances in recent years, this type of tumor is still responsible for one in eight cancer deaths among men in Austria alone. Currently available treatment methods range from surgery and radiation therapy to medication. Identifying previously unknown molecular mechanisms could help develop targeted therapies. PPARγ as a potential regulator of tumor growth is a promising option that is now being investigated in further studies.

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