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Metformin and Other Biguanides in Oncology: Advancing the Research Agenda
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Retrospective studies that may be impractical to confirm prospectively suggest that diabetics treated with metformin have a substantially reduced cancer burden compared with other diabetics. It is unclear if this reflects a chemopreventive effect, an effect on transformed cells, or both. It also remains to be established if these data have relevance to people without diabetes. Laboratory models, however, provide independent impressive evidence for the activity of metformin and other biguanides in both cancer treatment and chemoprevention. Investigations of mechanisms of action of biguanides have revealed considerable complexity and have identified important gaps in knowledge that should be addressed to ensure the optimal design of clinical trials of these agents. Such trials may define important new indications for biguanides in the prevention and/or treatment of many common cancers. Cancer Prev Res; 3(9); 1060–5. ©2010 AACR.
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“However, our results indicate that PTEN-negative tumors seem resistant to the anticancer effect of metformin, which may be related to another anticancer mechanism of metformin involving adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) [3,18].”
From Enzalutamide Plus Metformin Versus Enzalutamide Alone in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: A Randomized Phase 2 Trial (SAKK 08/14). (2026) · cites this paper as [18]
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“In addition, a non-cell-autonomous mechanism for metformin's antitumor effects may be its ability to lower circulating blood glucose and insulin levels, which also contribute to cancer risk and incidence in some contexts (Pollak, 2010).”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Pollak, M.
- Affiliations
- Author's Affiliation: Department of Oncology, McGill University and Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Venue
- Cancer Prevention Research
- Published
- 2010-09-01
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1060-1065
- ISSN
- 1940-6207 (ISSN-L)
- 1940-6215
- PMC
- PMC2954412
- OpenAlex
- W2165189414
- Cited by
- 240
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 44
- FWCI
- 3.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Cancer Prevention Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Prostate Cancer Foundation
- McGill University
- Prostate Cancer Canada
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ca101008-02)
- Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute
- National Cancer Institute (R01 CA101008)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in cancer
- Keywords
- metformin, biguanides, chemoprevention, cancer therapy, diabetes mellitus, mechanism of action, clinical trial design, laboratory model
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Biguanides, Humans, Hypoglycemic Agents, Medical Oncology, Metformin, Neoplasms, Biomedical Research
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