ArticleCancer cell2013
LKB1 inactivation dictates therapeutic response of non-small cell lung cancer to the metabolism drug phenformin.
Article in Cancer cell, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03709147 (Exploiting Metformin Plus/Minus Cyclic Fasting Mimicking Diet), which is not on this map. Cited by 364 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Exploiting Metformin Plus/Minus Cyclic Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) to Improve the Efficacy of First Line Chemo-immunotherapy in Advanced LKB1-inactive Lung Adenocarcinoma
Who cites it
364 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 570 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Top 100 most-cited articles on apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer over the past two decades: a bibliometrics analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- A phase II study of metformin plus pemetrexed and carboplatin in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (METALUNG).Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2023Trial
- Phase II clinical trial of metformin as a cancer stem cell-targeting agent in ovarian cancer.JCI insight · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Molecular insights and therapeutic implications for the tumor suppressor role of LKB1 in non-small cell lung cancer.Cancer letters · 2026Review
- Review
- SMARCA4, STK11, and KEAP1 co-inactivation associates with poor prognosis and upregulation of the TGF-β pathway in lung adenocarcinoma.Translational oncology · 2026Article
- Metabolism, autophagy, and cell death: The triangular axis in tumor survival and therapeutic resistance.Redox biology · 2026Review
- LKB1 Loss Sensitizes Lung Tumor Spheres to Mitomet-Induced Ferroptosis, and These Effects are Enhanced by mTOR Inhibition.Molecular carcinogenesis · 2026Article
- Fatty acids metabolic reprogramming and tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer: targeting pathways.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Review
- Pharmacogenomic Stratification for Oncology Drug Repurposing: An Exposure Target Context Eligibility Framework.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Constitutive AMPK activation prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development through inhibition of HNF4α activity.Science advances · 2026Article
- Article
- Modeling lipid homeostasis using stable isotope tracing and flux analysis.Cell metabolism · 2026Article
- Macropinocytosis and Vascularization Determine Response to mTOR Inhibitors in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Cancer research · 2026Article
- AI-derived body composition analysis reveals muscle volume and metformin-associated adipose effects and the obesity paradox in non-small cell lung cancer.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
- High-dose ascorbic acid selectively induces pyroptosis in LKB1-deficient lung cancer and sensitizes immunotherapy.Cell reports. Medicine · 2025Article
- Glucose metabolism and its direct action in cancer and immune regulation: opportunities and challenges for metabolic targeting.Journal of biomedical science · 2025Review
- Precision immune regulation in KRAS-mutated cancers: the final piece of the puzzle?Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2025Review
304 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The LKB1 (also called STK11) tumor suppressor is mutationally inactivated in ∼20% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). LKB1 is the major upstream kinase activating the energy-sensing kinase AMPK, making LKB1-deficient cells unable to appropriately sense metabolic stress. We tested the therapeutic potential of metabolic drugs in NSCLC and identified phenformin, a mitochondrial inhibitor and analog of the diabetes therapeutic metformin, as selectively inducing apoptosis in LKB1-deficient NSCLC cells. Therapeutic trials in Kras-dependent mouse models of NSCLC revealed that tumors with Kras and Lkb1 mutations, but not those with Kras and p53 mutations, showed selective response to phenformin as a single agent, resulting in prolonged survival. This study suggests phenformin as a cancer metabolism-based therapeutic to selectively target LKB1-deficient tumors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.