Scientists from Denmark have discovered that long-term Taking metformin (a diabetes medicine) reduces the chance of developing blood cancer. The results of their study were published in the journal Blood Advances.
The study was based on data from more than 19 thousand participants, both healthy and diabetic, who took metformin to lower sugar. During the observation period from 2010 to 2018, there were 3,816 new cases of myeloproliferative neoplasms, rare forms of blood cancer in which there is an excess production of red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets in the bone marrow. This can lead to an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and internal organ damage.
The results showed that taking metformin reduced the risk of developing all types of myeloproliferative neoplasms in diabetics, with the most noticeable effect observed in those who took the drug more than five years.
However, scientists cannot yet accurately explain the mechanism underlying such protective properties of metformin. They plan to continue research to see if the drug affects the risk of developing other types of blood cancer, such as acute myeloid leukemia.
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