A Literature Review on Future Perspective of Metformin use for Chemotherapy

Abstract

The emergence of metformin as a potential anticancer and cancer-preventive therapeutic tool is exciting. More recently, metformin has been associated with decreased cancer incidence and mortality in diabetic patients and the insulin-lowering effects of metformin are integral to its anticancer properties. With the added benefits of being readily available, economical, and easily tolerated with good safety profile, it can be effortlessly transitioned from bench to bedside for cancer therapy. So, this review focuses on the clinical future perspectives of metformin for its anti-cancer therapy according to a search engine on PubMed, Cochrane library and google scholar mainly for laboratory studies, case-control, observational, cohort and clinical trial studies. Based on the available data a depth review was done on 43 articles and scholar opinions. Available data suggest that metformin have potential applications for adjuvant, palliative treatment and prevention of cancer. Importantly, metformin use has been associated with a significant decrease in the relative risk of specific cancers, such as prostate, pancreas and breast cancers.

Keywords: Metformin, Chemotherapy, Cancer, Diabetes

Cite this Article

Teklu Gebrehiwot Gebremichael, Hagos Abreha (MD), Hiluf Hindeya, Geush Meressa. A Literature Review on Future Perspective of Metformin use for Chemotherapy. Research & Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology. 2020; 9(3): 1–9p.