New Delhi, May 7 : Certain drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes can also be used to treat prostate cancer, according to a study.

Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria identified similarities in the mechanisms of diabetes and cancer.

They showed that the protein PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma) -- central to the regulation of metabolic processes -- can also influence the growth of prostate cancer cells.

But PPARγ is already known to be a target of certain drugs including so-called thiazolidinediones such as pioglitazone, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes.

The findings "showed that the diabetes drug pioglitazone influences the activity of PPARγ and thus inhibits the growth behaviour and metabolism of tumour cells. Furthermore, initial results revealed that prostate cancer patients with diabetes who were treated with PPARγ agonists had not relapsed at the time of data collection," explained Emine Atas from the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy at the varsity.

The study, published in the journal Molecular Cancer, indicates that such drugs could slow down growth of prostate cancer cells, representing a promising approach for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The researchers examined cell cultures and tissue samples from patient cohorts. They analysed how different activation states of the protein affect the cells.

Prostate cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the prostate gland grow out of control. Despite enormous medical advances in recent years, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with an estimated 1.4 million diagnoses and 375,000 deaths worldwide in 2020.

The currently available treatment methods range from surgery and radiotherapy to medication. The identification of previously unknown molecular mechanisms could help to develop targeted therapies.

PPARγ, as a potential regulator of tumour growth, is a promising option that will now be investigated in further studies, said the researchers.

/IANS