ReviewGynecologic oncology2014
Old drug, new trick: repurposing metformin for gynecologic cancers?
Review in Gynecologic oncology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Observational Studies on the Association Between Post-diagnostic Metformin Use and Survival in Ovarian Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2019Pooled it
- A phase II, open-label, non-randomized, prospective study assessing paclitaxel, carboplatin and metformin in the treatment of advanced stage ovarian carcinoma.Journal of gynecologic oncology · 2023Trial
- Article
- Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infection among women with diabetes mellitus in Accra, Ghana.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Metformin: A Review of Potential Mechanism and Therapeutic Utility Beyond Diabetes.Drug design, development and therapy · 2023Review
- Metformin: A promising drug for human cancers.Oncology letters · 2022Review
- Principles of dormancy evident in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.Cell division · 2022Review
- Divergent Metabolic Effects of Metformin Merge to Enhance Eicosapentaenoic Acid Metabolism and Inhibit Ovarian Cancer In Vivo.Cancers · 2022Article
- Hysteroscopic Curettage Followed by Megestrol Acetate Plus Metformin as a Fertility-Sparing Treatment for Women with Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia or Well-Differentiated Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinoma.Clinical Medicine Insights. Oncology · 2022Article
- Impact of metformin on survival outcome in ovarian cancer: a nationwide population-based cohort study.Journal of gynecologic oncology · 2021Article
- Review
- Immunology of tissue homeostasis, ovarian cancer growth and regression, and long lasting cancer immune prophylaxis - review of literature.Histology and histopathology · 2021Review
- SPHK1 Is a Novel Target of Metformin in Ovarian Cancer.Molecular cancer research : MCR · 2019Article
- Impact of diabetes mellitus on epithelial ovarian cancer survival.BMC cancer · 2018Article
- Article
- Metformin as a Therapeutic Target in Endometrial Cancers.Frontiers in oncology · 2018Review
- Association of Metformin Use and Survival Outcome in Women With Cervical Cancer.International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society · 2017Article
- Efficacy of metformin for advanced-stage endometrial cancer: A case report.Molecular and clinical oncology · 2017Article
- Low-dose salinomycin induces anti-leukemic responses in AML and MLL.Oncotarget · 2016Article
- Protective and therapeutic effects of metformin on gynecologic cancers.Journal of gynecologic oncology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThere is increasing pre-clinical and clinical evidence that metformin, a commonly used diabetes medication, has a protective effect in cancer. The aim of this review is to discuss metformin's anti-cancer molecular mechanisms of action and to summarize the current literature demonstrating metformin's potential in gynecologic cancer prevention and treatment.
methodsA PubMed search was conducted combining the keywords "metformin" with "neoplasm", "uterine neoplasms", "ovarian neoplasms", and "uterine cervical neoplasms". Studies published in English between 1994 and 2014 were included.
resultsPre-clinical studies in endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer suggest that metformin inhibits the growth of cancer cells. The primary molecular mechanism mediating this effect appears to be the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the subsequent inhibition of mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR). The pre-clinical findings are augmented by clinical studies indicating that metformin use is associated with a reduced risk of cancer and improved survival in diabetic women with ovarian and endometrial cancers. No clinical analyses have evaluated metformin use and cervical cancer. Overall, the data showing a favorable effect of metformin is strongest for endometrial and ovarian cancer and prospective clinical testing is ongoing in these two malignancies.
conclusionsNumerous clinical studies have reported an association between metformin use by diabetic patients and improved outcomes in gynecologic cancers. In addition, pre-clinical reports have identified plausible biological mechanisms to explain the molecular mechanism of action of metformin in cancer. However, the most important question remains unanswered: Will metformin be effective against cancer in patients without diabetes? Until this question is answered with prospective clinical testing, the role of metformin in the treatment or prevention of gynecologic malignancies remains theoretical and the clinical use of metformin as a cancer therapeutic is experimental.
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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.