Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35452877›Full record

ArticleMolecular metabolism2022

Metformin-induced reductions in tumor growth involves modulation of the gut microbiome.

Lindsay A Broadfield, Amna Saigal, Jake C Szamosi, Joanne A Hammill, Ksenia Bezverbnaya, Dongdong Wang, Jaya Gautam, Evangelia E Tsakiridis, Fiorella Di Pastena, Jamie McNicol and 16 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular metabolism, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Systematic review: The gut microbiota as a link between colorectal cancer and obesity.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. The intersection of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease: shared mechanisms and clinical implications.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
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  18. Gut microbiota interplay with autophagy-EMT dynamics in colorectal cancer.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025
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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

26 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Lindsay A BroadfieldCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Amna SaigalCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jake C SzamosiFarncombe Family Digestive Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Joanne A HammillDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Ksenia BezverbnayaDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Dongdong WangCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jaya GautamCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Evangelia E TsakiridisCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Fiorella Di PastenaCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jamie McNicolDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jianhan WuCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Saad SyedCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Farncombe Family Digestive Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
James S V LallyCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Amogelang R RaphenyaDepartment of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Marie-Jose BlouinSegal Cancer Center, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital; Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Michael PollakSegal Cancer Center, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital; Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Andrea SacconiOncogenomic and Epigenetic Unit, Italian National Cancer Institute "Regina Elena", Rome, Italy.
Giovanni BlandinoOncogenomic and Epigenetic Unit, Italian National Cancer Institute "Regina Elena", Rome, Italy.
Andrew G McArthurCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jonathan D SchertzerCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Farncombe Family Digestive Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Michael G SuretteCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Farncombe Family Digestive Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Stephen M CollinsDepartment of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Farncombe Family Digestive Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jonathan L BramsonDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Paola MutiCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Theodoros TsakiridisCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Gregory R SteinbergCentre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. Electronic address: gsteinberg@mcmaster.ca.
McMaster University Medical Centre · CAMcMaster University · CADigestive Health Research Institute · FRJewish General Hospital · CA

Funding

CIHR 144625-1CIHR 201709FDN-CEBA-116200
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background/purposeType 2 diabetes and obesity increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Metformin may reduce colorectal cancer but the mechanisms mediating this effect remain unclear. In mice and humans, a high-fat diet (HFD), obesity and metformin are known to alter the gut microbiome but whether this is important for influencing tumor growth is not known.

methodsMice with syngeneic MC38 colon adenocarcinomas were treated with metformin or feces obtained from control or metformin treated mice.

resultsWe find that compared to chow-fed controls, tumor growth is increased when mice are fed a HFD and that this acceleration of tumor growth can be partially recapitulated through transfer of the fecal microbiome or in vitro treatment of cells with fecal filtrates from HFD-fed animals. Treatment of HFD-fed mice with orally ingested, but not intraperitoneally injected, metformin suppresses tumor growth and increases the expression of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbes Alistipes, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae. The transfer of the gut microbiome from mice treated orally with metformin to drug naïve, conventionalized HFD-fed mice increases circulating propionate and butyrate, reduces tumor proliferation, and suppresses the expression of sterol response element binding protein (SREBP) gene targets in the tumor.

conclusionThese data indicate that in obese mice fed a HFD, metformin reduces tumor burden through changes in the gut microbiome.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeMetforminAnimalsDiet, High-FatMiceMice, Inbred C57BLObesityMetforminColon cancerGut microbiomeHigh-fat dietMetforminObesity

Identifiers

PMID35452877
PMCPMC9096669
OpenAlexW4224223901

What OpenQuestion holds

Texttitle and abstract
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.