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Cancer Cells Transformed into Harmless Fat in Mouse Study, By Rachael Rettner, January 15, 2019
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Then, the researchers treated the mice with two drugs: rosiglitazone, which is used in people to treat type 2 diabetes, and trametinib, an anti-cancer drug that inhibits the growth and spread of cancer cells. (Rosiglitazone belongs to a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones, which bind to receptors that are found mainly in fat tissue and that play a role in a number of biological processes, including the formation of mature fat cells, according to a 2005 paper on the topic. People with diabetes are given the drug because the receptors that it binds to also help increase sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which is involved in regulating blood sugar levels.) The researchers in the new study found that when mice received this drug combination, the cancer cells that had broken free from the initial tumor (called "invasive cancer" cells) changed into fat cells. The drugs also suppressed the growth of the tumor and prevented further metastasis.
