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Diabetes has long been linked to a higher risk of cancer. But can diabetes drugs, which control blood sugar levels and body weight, have an impact on whether or not cancer grows, spreads or slows down?
Researchers are now exploring how diabetes drugs affect immune function, inflammation and tumor biology, with interesting but still uncertain effects.
according to science dailyA recent review examined how widely used treatments such as metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists can affect cancer growth by changing how cells grow, how the immune system responds, and how inflammation develops.
These findings point to potential new treatment strategies and also highlight how much remains unknown.
Diabetes and cancer risk
Reports claim that type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been linked to a higher chance of developing several types of cancer, including liver, colorectal and breast cancer.
Managing blood sugar and body weight is essential for people with diabetes, but growing evidence shows that these factors alone do not fully explain the increased cancer risk.
This prompted scientists to explore how diabetes medications might affect cancer, either by reducing risk or, in some cases, by “causing unintended effects.”
Understanding this relationship may help clarify how diabetes treatments fit into cancer prevention and care, although further research is still needed to unravel the underlying biology.
Diabetes Drugs and Cancer Biology
A review published in Precision Clinical Medicine on December 10, 2025 sheds some light on current research into how anti-diabetes drugs interact with cancer.
The study, led by researchers at Peking University People’s Hospital, went beyond the traditional focus on blood sugar control and weight management.
Instead, it examined how drugs such as metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists might affect cancer progression through multiple biological pathways.
The review analyzed both laboratory and clinical studies that explored the relationship between diabetes medications and cancer.
The findings add depth to the ongoing discussion about how diabetes treatments can affect cancer outcomes in complex and sometimes unexpected ways.
What the evidence shows: ‘Surprising ways’
The review suggested that metformin, one of the most commonly prescribed diabetes medications, affects cancer through multiple mechanisms.
“These include strengthening anti-cancer immune responses and slowing tumor growth by altering the tumor microenvironment (TME),” Science Direct reports.
It added that metformin also affected “key cellular pathways such as AMPK, mTOR, and PI3K/AKT, which help regulate cell growth, cell death, and the formation of new blood vessels.”
Other diabetes medications also show potential effects.
“SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists are associated with alterations in cancer cell growth, reduced inflammation, and increased apoptosis,” the report said.
However, they do not have the same effect on all cancers or drugs.
“For example, metformin has shown encouraging results in reducing the risk of colorectal and liver cancers, while its role in breast cancer remains unclear,” the report said.
The review emphasized that each drug works differently and that more clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings and better understand their role in cancer treatment.
Dr. Linong Jie, a leading researcher in this field, was quoted as saying, “Although anti-diabetic drugs are important in the management of diabetes, their broader effects on cancer are still not fully understood.”
Dr. Linong Ji said, “This review highlights the complex mechanisms through which these drugs may influence cancer progression. However, the evidence is mixed, and we must continue to investigate the long-term effects of these drugs in cancer patients, as well as the ability to develop targeted treatments based on these findings.”
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