Insulin-responsiveness of tumor growth.

In October 2008, the 2nd International Insulin & Cancer Workshop convened roughly 30 researchers from eight countries in Düsseldorf/Germany. At this meeting, which was industry-independent like the preceding one in 2007, the following issues were discussed a) association between certain cancers and endogenous insulin production in humans, b) growth-promoting effects of insulin in animal experiments, c) mitogenic and anti-apoptotic activity of pharmaceutic insulin and insulin analogues in in vitro experiments, d) potential mechanisms of insulin action on cell growth, mediated by IGF-1 receptor and insulin receptor signaling, and e) IGF-1 receptor targeting for inhibition of tumor growth. It was concluded that further research is necessary to elucidate the clinical effects of these observations, and their potential for human neoplastic disease and treatment.