Metformin and Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now?
Mónica Cejuela SolísBegoña Martin-CastilloJavier A MenendezSonia PernasPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2022)
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide. Type 2 diabetes-associated metabolic traits such as hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, inflammation, oxidative stress, and obesity are well-known risk factors for breast cancer. The insulin sensitizer metformin, one of the most prescribed oral antidiabetic drugs, has been suggested to function as an antitumoral agent, based on epidemiological and retrospective clinical data as well as preclinical studies showing an antiproliferative effect in cultured breast cancer cells and animal models. These benefits provided a strong rationale to study the effects of metformin in routine clinical care of breast cancer patients. However, the initial enthusiasm was tempered after disappointing results in randomized controlled trials, particularly in the metastatic setting. Here, we revisit the current state of the art of metformin mechanisms of action, critically review past and current metformin-based clinical trials, and briefly discuss future perspectives on how to incorporate metformin into the oncologist's armamentarium for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Keyphrases
- type diabetes
- oxidative stress
- clinical trial
- randomized controlled trial
- breast cancer cells
- squamous cell carcinoma
- small cell lung cancer
- insulin resistance
- palliative care
- glycemic control
- metabolic syndrome
- dna damage
- genome wide
- systematic review
- weight loss
- body mass index
- adipose tissue
- physical activity
- machine learning
- cell therapy
- papillary thyroid
- mesenchymal stem cells
- gene expression
- electronic health record
- deep learning
- cross sectional
- health insurance
- lymph node metastasis
- replacement therapy
- artificial intelligence
- case control