Long-acting Insulin Analogs and Cancer

Hyperinsulinemia is a recognized risk factor for cancer and plays a major role for the increased cancer incidence in diabetic patients. Whether insulin analogs, and particularly long-acting analogs, worsen the pro-cancer effect of excess insulin is still controversial.In this paper we summarize the biological bases for the potential detrimental effect of long-acting analogs on cancer cells and review the in vitro and in vivo evidences on this issue.Because of their different molecular structure relative to native insulin, insulin analogs may activate the insulin receptor (IR) and the post receptor pathways differently.
Source: Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases : NMCD - Category: Nutrition Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research