Use of noninsulin anti diabetics for prevention and treatment of cancer- narrative review article

Background: epidemiological evidence shows that cancer and diabetes are major causes of death in the world. type2 diabetes increases the risk of cancer-specific mortality. this review relates diabetic therapies,diabetes and cancer. method: all published papers in this field were searched,looking into such databases as science direct,isi web of knowledge,pubmed and scopus. results: in cancer patients,metformin improves patient outcome and reduces cancer risk. sulfonylureas may increase risk of cancer,but decreased risk of cancer is associated with thiazolidinediones in type2 diabetic subjects. metformin lowers circulating insulin and it may be important for treatment of hyperinsulinemia-associated cancers,such as colon and breast cancer. conclusion: however,laboratory investigations and large-scale population based studies are required for further in-vestigation of association of cancer-preventive,anti-cancer and cancer-mortality of noninsulin antidiabetics. © 2015,iranian journal of public health. all rights reserved.