ReviewBritish journal of cancer2023
Is it still worth pursuing the repurposing of metformin as a cancer therapeutic?
Review in British journal of cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers.
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
92 citing papers in PubMed.
- The anti-obesogenic metabolite, Lac-Phe, is elevated by metformin treatment in prostate cancer patients.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Trial
- A randomized phase II/III study of paclitaxel/carboplatin/metformin versus paclitaxel/carboplatin/placebo as initial therapy for measurable stage III or IVA, stage IVB, or recurrent endometrial cancer: An NRG oncology/GOG study.Gynecologic oncology · 2025Trial
- Olaparib combined to metronomic cyclophosphamide and metformin in women with recurrent advanced/metastatic endometrial cancer: the ENDOLA phase I/II trial.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Multi-Target Antitumor Effects of Natural Products and Approved Drug Repurposing in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Advances in Mechanisms, Combination Regimens, Delivery System Optimization, and Clinical Challenges.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Metformin Suppresses Metastatic Potential and Sensitizes Ovarian Cancer Cells to Chemotherapeutics.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Paracetamol and Metformin Reduce NK-Cell Susceptibility in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells in Association with Enrichment of Immune-Evasive CD44International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Structure-guided optimisation of fenofibrate-derived oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors to modify tumour hypoxia.RSC medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Investigation of metformin analogues in targeting signaling molecules of head and neck cancer pathways by computational approaches.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and cancer risk: the good, the bad and the unknown.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Harnessing the potential of γδ T cells through engineering and combination treatment for cancer therapies.Nature communications · 2026Review
- Metabolic Amplification in Endometrial Carcinogenesis: Biological Rationale and Translational Limits of Precision Chemoprevention.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Insulin resistance as a modifiable contributor to breast cancer: mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic implications.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Genome-wide CRISPR Screening Reveals a PKA-Driven Resistance Mechanism to Metformin for Oral Cancer Prevention That Can Be Exploited by Combination with NSAIDs.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- Obesity, metformin prescription and risk of advanced prostate cancer in non-diabetic men.BJC reports · 2026Article
- Metformin suppresses MEN1-associated pancreatic and pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: evidence from mouse models and clinical data.Endocrine-related cancer · 2026Article
- The role of histone demethylase PHF2 as a tumour suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating SRXN1.Oncogenesis · 2026Article
- Metformin Sensitizes HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer Cells to CDK4/6 Inhibitor via Suppressing of PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Article
- Metformin and Myo-Inositol: A Comparative Analysis.Gynecologic and obstetric investigation · 2026Review
- Glutamine Metabolism: Role in Cancer Cell Proliferation and Survival.Cancer treatment and research · 2026Review
- The application of nanotechnology in regulating mitochondrial function in tumor microenvironment for cancer therapy.Theranostics · 2026Review
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Over the past 15 years, there has been great interest in the potential to repurpose the diabetes drug, metformin, as a cancer treatment. However, despite considerable efforts being made to investigate its efficacy in a number of large randomised clinical trials in different tumour types, results have been disappointing to date. This perspective article summarises how interest initially developed in the oncological potential of metformin and the diverse clinical programme of work to date including our contribution to establishing the intra-tumoral pharmacodynamic effects of metformin in the clinic. We also discuss the lessons that can be learnt from this experience and whether a further clinical investigation of metformin in cancer is warranted.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.