Drugs used for treating diabetes can actually contain and prevent lung cancer.

Preliminary data that some diabetes medications might protect against tobacco-induced lung cancer has been backed by the findings, being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Vancouver.

It was stated by study author Dr. Peter Mazzone that a much higher chance of taking one of these medications was much higher in those who did not develop lung cancer as compared to people who actually did get it.

And with these drugs it was also seen that people who got lung cancer actually were able to battle the cancer and it did not spread outside the chest and more likely to survive longer.

Tens of millions of Americans use both metformin and the class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones that includes Avandia and Actos.

It was seen in a mouse study that when they were given a common carcinogen found in tobacco, a 73 per cent reduction was seen in tumor development in a mouse study with metformin. To be susceptible to this kind of tumor, the mice had been genetically engineered. Similar effects have been seen in epidemiological studies in humans.

Mazzone stated, "Forty-one per cent of those with lung cancer had taken one of these medications at some point prior to developing the cancer, and 96 per cent of all the controls had taken one of these medications in diabetic treatment."