Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26649977›Full record

ArticleThyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association2016

Metformin Attenuates 131I-Induced Decrease in Peripheral Blood Cells in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

Athanasios Bikas, Douglas Van Nostrand, Kirk Jensen, Sameer Desale, Mihriye Mete, Aneeta Patel, Leonard Wartofsky, Vasyl Vasko, Kenneth D Burman

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Radiomitigators: Breakthroughs in Post-Radiation Recovery.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Effects of metformin on the PI3K/AKT/FOXO1 pathway in anaplastic thyroid Cancer cell lines.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2018
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Athanasios Bikas1 Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center , Washington, DC.
Douglas Van Nostrand3 Department of Nuclear Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center , Washington, DC.
Kirk Jensen4 Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , Bethesda, Maryland.
Sameer Desale2 MedStar Health Research Institute , Washington, DC.
Mihriye Mete2 MedStar Health Research Institute , Washington, DC.
Aneeta Patel4 Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , Bethesda, Maryland.
Leonard Wartofsky1 Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center , Washington, DC.
Vasyl Vasko4 Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , Bethesda, Maryland.
Kenneth D Burman1 Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center , Washington, DC.
MedStar Health · USUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences · USMedStar Washington Hospital Center · US

Funding

Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: Risk Factors, Early Detection and Personalized InterventionUL1TR001409 · NCATS · GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY · PI GONDRE-LEWIS, MARJORIE C, MELLMAN, THOMAS A · 2015 to 2024
$37.8M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001409
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background131I treatment (tx) of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is associated with hematopoietic toxicity. It was hypothesized that metformin could have radioprotective effects on bone-marrow function. The objective was to determine whether metformin prevents 131I-induced changes in complete blood counts (CBC) in patients with DTC.

methodsA retrospective analysis was performed of CBC values in DTC patients who were (40 patients: metformin group) or were not taking metformin (39 patients: control group) at the time of administration of 131I. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used for the analysis of the differences in the averages of CBC that were documented at baseline and at 1, 6, and 12 months post 131I tx.

resultsThe groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, stage of DTC, 131I dose administered, and baseline CBC values. In the control group, the decrease in white blood cells (WBC) was 35.8% (p < 0.0001) at one month, 21.8% (p < 0.0001) at six months, and 19.4% (p < 0.0001) at 12 months. In the metformin group, the decrease in WBC was 17.1% (p < 0.0001) at one month, and 8.6% at six months (p = 0.01), while at 12 months WBC had returned to baseline values (p = 0.9). Differences between the two groups were highly statistically significant at all time points (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0027, and p < 0.0001, respectively). Lymphocytes were more sensitive to 131I, but metformin's radioprotective properties were more prominent in neutrophils. At 12 months, the decrease in platelets in the control group was 15.5% (p < 0.0001) versus 5.6% (p = 0.056) in the metformin group, while at one and six months the reductions in the two groups were comparable. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in the change from baseline values for hemoglobin.

conclusionsMetformin attenuated the 131I-induced decrease in CBC parameters, and its radioprotective properties were more prominent in WBC. Patients who were taking metformin during 131I tx also experienced a faster recovery in their blood counts, when compared to the control group. Further study is warranted in order to examine if the radioprotective properties of metformin observed in the current study for 131I tx can also apply to other forms of therapeutic chemo- and radiotherapy.

Indexed as

AdultAgedBlood PlateletsBone Marrow CellsErythrocyte CountFemaleHemoglobinsHumansHypoglycemic AgentsIodine RadioisotopesLeukocyte CountMaleMetforminMiddle AgedRadiation-Protective AgentsReproducibility of ResultsHemoglobinsHypoglycemic AgentsIodine RadioisotopesMetforminRadiation-Protective Agents

Identifiers

PMID26649977
PMCPMC6453488
OpenAlexW2191688351

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.