The diabetes drug Metformin, previously linked with reduced pancreatic cancer risk, has been found by a new large-scale study to lower risk in women only.
Research published yesterday in The American Journal of Gastroenterology indicates women who have taken 30 or more courses of Metformin have roughly half the risk of developing pancreatic cancer (CI 0.23-0.80), but found no such relationship in men.
The results contradict a 2009 study (2) which associated five years or more metformin therapy with a 70% decreased risk of developing pancreatic cancer regardless of sex (CI 0.13-0.69).
The authors of the new research – the subjects of which had an average age of 70 –pointed out that with only 29 exposed cases and 27 controls, the former...
This site is intended for Registered Medical Practitioners.
To make the most of Gastroenterology Update, you need to be logged in.