Using computer simulations of drugs, researchers have found that doctors need to be wary of prescribing a particular treatment for all types of cancer and patients.
The drug, called metformin, is traditionally prescribed for diabetes but has been used in clinical settings as a cancer treatment in recent years.
Researchers say that while metformin shows great promise, it also has negative consequences for certain types of cancers.
“Metformin is a wonder drug, and we are only just beginning to understand all of its possible benefits,” said Mehrshad Sadria, a PhD candidate in applied mathematics at the University of Waterloo. “Physicians need to consider the value of the drug on a case-by-case basis, because for some cancers and some patient profiles, it may actually have the opposite effect of the desired effect by protecting tumor cells against stress. »
Computer-simulated treatments use models that replicate both the drug and the cancer cells in a virtual environment. Such models can give clinical trials in humans a significant head start and can provide medical practitioners with insights that would take much longer to discover in the field.
“In a clinical setting, drugs can sometimes be prescribed through trial and error,” said Anita Layton, professor of applied mathematics and Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematical Biology and Medicine at Waterloo. “Our mathematical models help speed up clinical trials and eliminate some guesswork. What we see with this drug is that it can do a lot of good but needs more study. »
The researchers say their work shows the importance of precision medicine when considering the use of metformin for cancer and other diseases. Precision medicine is an approach that assumes that each patient requires individualized medical assessment and treatment.
“Diseases and treatments are complicated,” Sadria said. “Everything about the patient matters, and even small differences can have a big impact on the effect of a drug, such as age, gender, genetic and epigenetic profiles. All of these things are important and can affect a patient’s outcome. Also, no drug works for everyone, so doctors need to look closely at each patient when considering treatments like metformin. »
The article by Sadria, Layton and co-author Deokhwa Seo was published in the journal BioMed Central Cancer.
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Materials provided by University of Waterloo. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.