ArticleOncotarget2017
Phenformin has anti-tumorigenic effects in human ovarian cancer cells and in an orthotopic mouse model of serous ovarian cancer.
Article in Oncotarget, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Phenformin-Induced Apoptosis: A Potential Mechanism for Cervical Cancer Cell Inhibition.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Metformin-A Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Drug-And Ovarian Cancer: Anticancer Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Metformin-Induced Apoptosis Is Mediated Through Mitochondrial VDAC1.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Prolonged Low-Dose Administration of FDA-Approved Drugs for Non-Cancer Conditions: A Review of Potential Targets in Cancer Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Progress in antitumor mechanisms and applications of phenformin (Review).Oncology reports · 2024Review
- Identification of a novel m6A-related lncRNAs signature and immunotherapeutic drug sensitivity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.BMC cancer · 2024Article
- Orlistat exerts anti-obesity and anti-tumorigenic effects in a transgenic mouse model of endometrial cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- Metabolic Reprogramming Helps to Define Different Metastatic Tropisms in Colorectal Cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Current Treatments and New Possible Complementary Therapies for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Biomedicines · 2021Review
- Metabolic Strategies for Inhibiting Cancer Development.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Review
- Mitochondrial Inhibition: a Treatment Strategy in Cancer?Current oncology reports · 2021Review
- The anti-cancer effects of phenformin in thyroid cancer cell lines and in normal thyrocytes.Oncotarget · 2019Article
- Phenformin as an Anticancer Agent: Challenges and Prospects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- Repurposed Biguanide Drugs in Glioblastoma Exert Antiproliferative Effects via the Inhibition of Intracellular Chloride Channel 1 Activity.Frontiers in oncology · 2019Review
- Targeting mitochondria in cancer therapy could provide a basis for the selective anti-cancer activity.PloS one · 2019Article
- SPARC Inhibits Metabolic Plasticity in Ovarian Cancer.Cancers · 2018Article
- Mitochondria in cancer metabolism, an organelle whose time has come?Biochimica et biophysica acta. Reviews on cancer · 2018Review
- Cytotoxic effects of Phenformin on ovarian cancer cells: expression of HIF-1α and PDK1 in the hypoxic microenvironment.Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologieArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Obesity and diabetes have been associated with increased risk and worse outcomes in ovarian cancer (OC). The biguanide metformin is used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and is also believed to have anti-tumorigenic benefits. Metformin is highly hydrophilic and requires organic cation transporters (OCTs) for entry into human cells. Phenformin, another biguanide, was taken off the market due to an increased risk of lactic acidosis over metformin. However, phenformin is not reliant on transporters for cell entry; and thus, may have increased potency as both an anti-diabetic and anti-tumorigenic agent than metformin. Thus, our goal was to evaluate the effect of phenformin on established OC cell lines, primary cultures of human OC cells and in an orthotopic mouse model of high grade serous OC. In three OC cell lines, phenformin significantly inhibited cellular proliferation, induced cell cycle G1 arrest and apoptosis, caused cellular stress, inhibited adhesion and invasion, and activation of AMPK and inhibition of the mTOR pathway. Phenformin also exerted anti-proliferative effects in seven primary cell cultures of human OC. Lastly, phenformin inhibited tumor growth in an orthotopic mouse model of serous OC, coincident with decreased Ki-67 staining and phosphorylated-S6 expression and increased expression of caspase 3 and phosphorylated-AMPK. Our findings demonstrate that phenformin has anti-tumorigenic effects in OC as previously demonstrated by metformin but it is yet to be determined if it is superior to metformin for the potential treatment of this disease.
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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.