Approved cancer drug potentially could help treat diabetes, Stanford researchers find

A pair of studies by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has identified a molecular pathway - a series of interaction among proteins - involved in the development of diabetes. Furthermore, they have found that a drug already approved for use in humans can regulate the pathway. The findings were published on-line September 15 in two articles in Nature Medicine and reported by EurekAlert.

The studies, done in mice, identify a previously unexpected link between a low-oxygen condition called hypoxia and the ability of cells in the liver to respond to insulin. The drug, aflibercept, developed by USA-based Regeneron (Nasdaq: REGN)), is used to treat metastatic colorectal cancer and a form of macular degeneration. It marketed by Bayer as Eylea for ophthalmic indications and Sanofi as Zaltrap for cancer. Aflibercept is a member of a family of proteins that inhibit the vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, pathway. It works by blocking the growth of the blood vessels into tumors and starving them of oxygen.

The lab of Calvin Kuo, professor of medicine, identified a series of protein interactions that link VEGF inhibitors and blood glucose levels. "We were surprised to find that this drug currently used in patients for cancer treatment had beneficial effects on diabetes in laboratory mice and could, potentially, in humans," said Dr Kuo, senior author of one of the Nature Medicine papers.