Overview
- The study, which appeared Monday in EMBO Molecular Medicine, found metformin raised N-lactoyl-phenylalanine to levels seen after strenuous exercise in men with prostate cancer.
- Lac-Phe forms when lactate from muscle effort binds phenylalanine and has been tied to lower appetite and better weight control.
- The metformin effect showed up even when patients were inactive and persisted after hormone therapy started, hinting at support for metabolic health during treatment.
- The metabolite’s rise did not correlate with prostate-specific antigen, so researchers do not view it as a tumor response marker.
- Similar increases were seen with other metabolic drugs, and Lac-Phe aligned more with weight than metformin’s GDF-15 signal, suggesting multiple pathways worth testing in larger studies.