ArticleCancer science2019
Effects of metformin and phenformin on apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in chemoresistant rectal cancer.
Article in Cancer science, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antiproliferative Mechanisms of Metformin in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Metformin increases pathological responses to rectal cancers with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of surgical oncology · 2023 · on this mapPooled it
- Innovative horizons: harnessing drug repositioning for targeted therapeutics in colorectal cancer.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Metformin's multifaceted role in colorectal cancer: mechanisms of action and synergy with standard treatments.Discover oncology · 2025Review
- Association of metformin with risk of digestive tract cancers from a drug target mendelian randomization and cell experiments.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Repurposing of Metabolic Drugs Metformin and Simvastatin as an Emerging Class of Cancer Therapeutics.Pharmaceutical research · 2025Review
- Effect of metformin on cell proliferation and apoptosis in steatosis HepG2 cell model.Northern clinics of Istanbul · 2025Article
- Progress in antitumor mechanisms and applications of phenformin (Review).Oncology reports · 2024Review
- Bisbiguanide analogs induce mitochondrial stress to inhibit lung cancer cell invasion.iScience · 2024Article
- Article
- Repurposing Metabolic Inhibitors in the Treatment of Colon Adenocarcinoma Patient-Derived Models.Cells · 2023Article
- Expression profiling of extramedullary acute myeloid leukemia suggests involvement of epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathways.Leukemia · 2023Article
- Metformin and cancer hallmarks: shedding new lights on therapeutic repurposing.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- Action Mechanism of Metformin and Its Application in Hematological Malignancy Treatments: A Review.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Article
- Metformin is a metabolic modulator and radiosensitiser in rectal cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- A triple-drug combination induces apoptosis in cervical cancer-derived cell lines.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- Metformin inhibits the development and metastasis of colorectal cancer.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2022Article
- Ginsenoside Rh1 inhibits tumor growth in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells via mitochondrial ROS and ER stress-mediated signaling pathway.Archives of pharmacal research · 2022Article
- Targeting Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Radioresistance: Crosslinked Mechanisms and Strategies.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Recurrence and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer remain important issues for patients treated with conventional therapeutics. Metformin and phenformin, previously used in the treatment of diabetes, have been shown to have anticancer effects in various cancers, including breast, lung and prostate cancers. However, their molecular mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of these drugs in chemoresistant rectal cancer cell lines. We found that SW837 and SW1463 rectal cancer cells were more resistant to ionizing radiation and 5-fluorouracil than HCT116 and LS513 colon cancer cells. In addition, metformin and phenformin increased the sensitivity of these cell lines by inhibiting cell proliferation, suppressing clonogenic ability and increasing apoptotic cell death in rectal cancer cells. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling pathways were more activated in rectal cancer cells, and inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 expression using an inhibitor or siRNA sensitized rectal cancer cells to chemoresistant by inhibition of the expression of antiapoptotic proteins, such as X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis, survivin and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1. Moreover, metformin and phenformin inhibited cell migration and invasion by suppression of transforming growth factor β receptor 2-mediated Snail and Twist expression in rectal cancer cells. Therefore, metformin and phenformin may represent a novel strategy for the treatment of chemoresistant rectal cancer by targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling.
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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.