Metformin and reductions in cancer death | Rhonda Patrick
Get the full length version of this episode as a podcast.
This episode will make a great companion for a long drive.
The BDNF Protocol Guide
An essential checklist for cognitive longevity — filled with specific exercise, heat stress, and omega-3 protocols for boosting BDNF. Enter your email, and we'll deliver it straight to your inbox.
You'll also receive updates from Rhonda & FoundMyFitness
People with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk for cancer potentially due to dysregulated glucose metabolism. A mounting body of evidence suggests that metformin reduces cancer risk and mortality in people with type 2 diabetes. Whether metformin reduces the risk of cancer in healthy people remains to be seen. In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes the relationship between metformin and cancer incidence and the relevance for those with type 2 diabetes.
You know, some of the life extension things on the human side I've heard have been linked to its ability to prevent certain cancers. Yeah, we'll get to that. Yeah. And that's one thing, like mice don't get human types of— I mean, humans get lymphomas and, and leukemias, but the majority of human cancers are, are what's called epithelial-based cancers, not blood-based cancers. They're epithelial-based cancers, meaning they're like solid tumors, you know, prostate cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer. Ovarian cancer, right? You know, these these are all solid tumors. Some of the human studies, which is what you just brought up, I mean, that's that's kind of like getting to the human data is what's really important.
But I wanted to mention that animal study data because it's the variable effects on you know depending on gender and dose and time of administration. I think that's all important stuff to like consider, right? And we don't really know why honestly why men why the male mice are so like sensitive to dose in terms of like their lifespan effects. But to the cancer note that you mentioned, that's also— that's been pretty interesting. There's been a lot of different prospective studies showing that metformin reduces cancer incidence and mortality among type 2 people with type 2 diabetes, right? You know, so that's important to also consider. This isn't like— these aren't like healthy people. You know, type 2 diabetes also increases cancer incidence, right?
So The fact that you can find meta-analyses showing that metformin reduces overall cancer incidence by like 30% or cancer death by 35% or something like that is not that surprising, right? You're talking about people with type 2 diabetes when they're taking— so compared to people with type 2 diabetes that are not taking metformin, they're going to have a higher cancer incidence. Dysregulated glucose metabolism and all that stuff has been shown to play a role in cancer. Okay.
The thousands of biochemical processes that run all of the various cellular processes that produce energy. Since energy generation is so fundamental to all other processes, in some cases the word metabolism may refer more broadly to the sum of all chemical reactions in the cell.
A drug commonly used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Metformin is in a class of antihyperglycemic drugs called biguanides. It works by decreasing gluconeogenesis in the liver, reducing the amount of sugar absorbed in the gut, and increasing insulin sensitivity. A growing body of evidence indicates that metformin modulates the aging processes to improve healthspan and extend lifespan. Furthermore, metformin may prevent genomic instability by scavenging reactive oxygen species, increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes, inhibiting macrophage recruitment and inflammatory responses, and stimulating DNA damage responses and DNA repair.[1]
[1] Najafi, Masoud, et al. "Metformin: Prevention of genomic instability and cancer: A review." Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis 827 (2018): 1-8.
A metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar and insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and is typically associated with overweight and low physical activity. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, increased hunger, fatigue, and impaired healing. Long-term complications from poorly controlled type 2 diabetes include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy (and subsequent blindness), kidney failure, and diminished peripheral blood flow which may lead to amputations.
Attend Monthly Q&As with Rhonda
Support our work
The FoundMyFitness Q&A happens monthly for premium members. Attend live or listen in our exclusive member-only podcast The Aliquot.
Cancer News
- An experimental brain tumor vaccine produced lasting immune responses and showed signs of longer survival.
- A gut bacterium from a Japanese tree frog outperformed two standard cancer treatments in mice.
- Regular sleep timing may be just as important as sleep duration for long-term health.
- Sulforaphane lowered markers linked to tumor growth in men with prostate cancer.
- The rise of early-onset cancer may be linked to changes in biological aging.
