An international team of scientists find promising results with the use of drugs for diabetes, to treat blood cancer as reported in BBC.  Common diabetes drugs might help eliminate drug-resistant cancer cells in a certain form of leukemia when added to standard treatment.  Those who received the combined therapy are found out to be free of the disease for much longer.

According to the study, an average of 600 is diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) each year in the United Kingdom.   Leukemia is an abnormal rise in the number of white blood cells.  The white blood cells crowd out other blood cell elements such as red blood cells and platelets.  The elevated white blood cells are immature and do not function properly resulting to weak defence against infection and excessive bleeding.

There are successful treatments for the disease already however some patients become resistant to these therapies.  Researchers found that patients with CML who received glitazone, a type of medication for type 2 diabetes, along with the standard CML drug, imatinib, remained cancer-free for almost five years. 

These combined treatments were given to 24 patients whose CML remained active despite receiving conventional treatment.  Just after 12 months, almost half of the patients taking the combined treatment were in remission already.  The first three patients who were given the combined treatment had no reoccurrence of cancer in the next five years.

The outlook for people with chronic myeloid leukaemia has improved dramatically since the introduction of drugs like imatinib, Prof. Peter Johnson said, chief clinician in UK's Cancer Research.  Acocrding to WebMD imatinib boasts an impressive track record in controlling chronic myeloid leukemia and allowing patients to lead virtually normal lives. But despite its effectiveness, dormant, drug-resistant leukemic cells typically lay in wait in bone marrow. They can later transform into highly aggressive cells.

Johnson also acknowledged this truth, "But for some patients these drugs aren't always effective. This study is an interesting example of how understanding the biology of cancer stem cells could help improve treatment for these patients."Although the study has its limitations, it would be interesting to know its effects in larger clinical trials.  Scientist hopes that this combined therapy approach may also prove effective in other forms of cancers.