SynthesisPloS one2014
Effect of metformin on cancer risk and treatment outcome of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of epidemiological observational studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 8 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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preventive and Therapeutic effects of Metformin in Cancer: A Meta- Analysis of RCT and Cohort Studies.Current cancer drug targets · 2026Pooled it
- Metformin use and prostate cancer risk: A meta-analysis of cohort studies.Medicine · 2019 · on this mapPooled it
- The effect of metformin therapy on incidence and prognosis in prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2019Pooled it
- Metformin, Asian ethnicity and risk of prostate cancer in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2018 · on this mapPooled it
- Metformin Use Is Associated with Reduced Incidence and Improved Survival of Endometrial Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.BioMed research international · 2017 · on this mapPooled it
- Metformin as an adjuvant treatment for cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of tripterygium glycosides tablet in treating ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical rheumatology · 2015Pooled it
- Unravelling the association between metformin and pan-cancers: Mendelian randomization combined with NHANES database analysis.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Antitumor Activity of Metformin Combined with Locoregional Therapy for Liver Cancer: Evidence and Future Directions.Cancers · 2023Review
- Article
- Metabolic syndrome is associated with aggressive prostate cancer regardless of race.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2023Article
- Metformin use and mortality in Asian, diabetic patients with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy: A population-based study.The Prostate · 2023Article
- Systematic review of antitumour efficacy and mechanism of metformin activity in prostate cancer models.BJUI compass · 2023Review
- The Effect of Metformin on Male Reproductive Function and Prostate: An Updated Review.The world journal of men's health · 2022Review
- The role of metformin, statins and diet in men on active surveillance for prostate cancer.World journal of urology · 2022Review
- Insulin Resistance and Cancer: In Search for a Causal Link.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Fatty Acid Synthesis in Prostate Cancer: Vulnerability or Epiphenomenon?Cancer research · 2021Review
- Population-wide impacts of aspirin, statins, and metformin use on prostate cancer incidence and mortality.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Metal Complex Formation and Anticancer Activity of Cu(I) and Cu(II) Complexes with Metformin.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLaboratory studies have shown the anti-tumor effect of metformin on prostate cancer. However, recent epidemiological studies have yielded inconclusive results.
methodsWe searched PubMed database from the inception to May 30 2014 for studies which assessed the effect of metformin use on cancer risk of prostate cancer, biochemical recurrence (BCR) and all-cause mortality of patients with prostate cancer. The pooled results and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by random-effect model.
resultsTwenty-one studies were eligible according to the inclusion criteria. Based on the pooled results of available observational studies, metformin use was significantly associated with a decreased cancer risk (14 datasets, 963991 male subjects, odds ratio: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.97) and BCR (6 datasets, 2953 patients, hazard ratio: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.68-0.98) of prostate cancer. However, the association of metformin use with all-cause mortality of patients with prostate cancer was not significant (5 datasets, 9241 patients, hazard ratio: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.64-1.14).
conclusionResults suggest that metformin use appears to be associated with a significant reduction in the cancer risk and BCR of prostate cancer, but not in all-cause mortality of patients with prostate cancer.
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What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.