ANTIDIABETIC THERAPY, ANTIOXIDANTS AND TUMOR INITIATION

Abstract

Accumulating evidence found that antidiabetic therapy is closely associated with tumor. Oxidative stress contributes to the onset of diabetes and diabetic complications, and antioxidant agents are the important component in the treatment of diabetes and its complications. Furthermore, oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in tumor. So antioxidant antidiabetic agents may have the potential effect on the biology of tumors. In our study recently published on Science Translational Medicine, we found that some of the antioxidant antidiabetic agents could increase NRF2 expression which correlated with potentially accelerating tumor metastasis in mice models. Our findings suggest that antioxidants that activate NRF2 signaling may need to be administered with caution in cancer patients, such as diabetic patients with cancer.