ArticleThe oncologist2015
Effect of metformin on progression of head and neck cancers, occurrence of second primary cancers, and cause-specific survival.
Article in The oncologist, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of metformin on head and neck cancer: an umbrella review.BMC cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Diabetes is associated with elevated mortality, stroke, and osteoradionecrosis in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Risk of second primary cancer in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a systemic review and meta-analysis.Clinical oral investigations · 2023Pooled it
- Survival Benefit of Metformin as an Adjuvant Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Metformin as an adjuvant treatment for cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2016Pooled it
- Therapeutic Potential of Anti-Diabetes Drugs and Anti-Dyslipidemia Drugs to Mitigate Head and Neck Cancer Risk in Metabolic Syndrome.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Review
- Preventive and Therapeutic Effect of Metformin in Head and Neck Cancer: A Concise Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Prognostic value of diabetes and metformin use in a real-life population of head and neck cancer patients.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Diabetes and its Potential Impact on Head and Neck Oncogenesis.Journal of Cancer · 2020Review
- The Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on the Second Primary Malignancies in Colorectal Cancer Patients.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Article
- Survival impact and toxicity of metformin in head and neck cancer: An analysis of the SEER-Medicare dataset.Oral oncology · 2018Article
- Article
- 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
- Follow-up in Head and Neck Cancer: Do More Does It Mean Do Better? A Systematic Review and Our Proposal Based on Our Experience.Clinical and experimental otorhinolaryngology · 2016Review
- The Influence of Diabetes Mellitus and Metformin on Distant Metastases in Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Multicenter Study.International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics · 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
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study aimed to investigate the effect of metformin on progression of head and neck cancers, occurrence of second primary cancers, and cause-specific survival.
methodsThis study analyzed a retrospective cohort of 1,151 consecutive patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who were treated at our hospital. Patients were divided into three groups: nondiabetic, nonmetformin, and metformin. Clinical characteristics, recurrence of index head and neck cancer, occurrence of second primary cancer, and survival were compared among the different groups.
resultsOf 1,151 patients, 99 (8.6%) were included in the metformin group, 79 (6.8%) were in the nonmetformin group, and 973 (84.5%) were in the nondiabetic group. Diabetic status and metformin exposure had no significant impact on index head and neck cancer recurrence or second primary cancer development (p > .2). The nonmetformin group showed relatively lower overall (p = .017) and cancer-specific (p = .054) survival rates than the other groups in univariate analyses, but these results were not confirmed in multivariate analyses.
conclusionMetformin use did not show beneficial effects on index tumor progression, second primary cancer occurrence, and cause-specific survival in patients with head and neck cancer compared with nonmetformin users and nondiabetic patients.
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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.