Diabetes Drug Stops Prostate Cancer From Coming Back

A diabetes drug called pioglitazone not only regulates insulin but may also prevent prostate cancer recurrence by reprogramming cancer cells and slowing their growth.

A diabetes drug may hold the key to preventing prostate cancer relapse. Scientists discovered that prostate cancer patients with diabetes who took PPARy-targeting drugs stayed cancer-free during follow-up.

The drug, pioglitazone, appears to rewire cancer cell metabolism and suppress growth.

Promising Drug Discovery in Prostate Cancer

In a discovery that could open new doors for cancer treatment, researchers have found that a common diabetes drug may also help prevent prostate cancer from returning.

“This is a significant discovery. For the first time, we have clinical observations showing that prostate cancer patients with diabetes who received drugs targeting the protein remained relapse-free during the period we followed them,” says Lukas Kenner, a visiting professor at Umeå University and one of the study’s lead authors.

The protein at the center of this research is called PPARγ (pronounced “PPAR gamma”), short for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. It’s well known in diabetes research for its role in regulating metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

Lukas Kenner, Visiting Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. Credit: Medizinische Universität Wien

Diabetes Medication Shows Dual Benefits

What’s exciting is that prostate cancer patients with diabetes who were treated with drugs that activate PPARγ, such as pioglitazone, showed no signs of their cancer returning. Laboratory tests on cell cultures revealed even more: pioglitazone not only slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells but also changed their metabolism, making it harder for the cells to survive and spread.

“The findings are very promising, but further clinical studies are needed to both confirm the results and to investigate whether the treatment can also be used in patients with prostate cancer who do not have diabetes,” says Lukas Kenner.

Multilayered Research Approach

The research has been conducted as a combination of studies on cells and mice as well as a retrospective study of 69 prostate cancer patients with type 2 diabetes that was followed by the Medical University of Innsbruck in 2014–2023.

In certain types of cancer, PPARγ can contribute to tumour growth or metabolic changes. The drug, pioglitazone, is a so-called agonist that binds to a PPARy receptor and activates it. Thereby it modulates the signalling pathway and aims to counteract tumour-promoting effects by changing the cellular metabolism but may also reduce inflammation.

Reference: “The anti-diabetic PPARγ agonist Pioglitazone inhibits cell proliferation and induces metabolic reprogramming in prostate cancer” by Emine Atas, Kerstin Berchtold, Michaela Schlederer, Sophie Prodinger, Felix Sternberg, Perla Pucci, Christopher Steel, Jamie D. Matthews, Emily R. James, Cécile Philippe, Karolína Trachtová, Ali A. Moazzami, Nastasiia Artamonova, Felix Melchior, Torben Redmer, Gerald Timelthaler, Elena E. Pohl, Suzanne D. Turner, Isabel Heidegger, Marcus Krueger, Ulrike Resch and Lukas Kenner, 5 May 2025, Molecular Cancer.
DOI: 10.1186/s12943-025-02320-y

The research group behind the study includes researchers in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.

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