The first human trial of metformin for precancerous colorectal lesions hints that the diabetes drug may be poised for a second incarnation – this time as a chemopreventive agent for several cancers, including lung, colon, and prostate cancers, and even breast malignancies. The small study, published in the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research, found that after 1 month of oral metformin, nondiabetic patients who already had at least one colorectal adenoma removed experienced a significant reduction in their number of colorectal aberrant crypt foci – an endoscopic finding that some consider a precursor of adenomatous colon polyps.
