Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36280839›Full record

SynthesisBMC medicine2022

Efficacy of metformin therapy in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis of 22 randomised controlled trials.

Jie Wen, Zhenjie Yi, Yuyao Chen, Jing Huang, Xueyi Mao, Liyang Zhang, Yu Zeng, Quan Cheng, Wenrui Ye, Zhixiong Liu and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Association of metformin use and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2024 · on this map
    Pooled it
  3. Trial
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  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Diabetes and cancer: therapeutic implications.Cardio-oncology (London, England) · 2026
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
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  16. Review
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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

12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jie Wen *Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Zhenjie Yi *Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yuyao ChenDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Jing HuangNational Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Xueyi MaoDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Liyang ZhangDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yu ZengDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Quan ChengDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Wenrui YeDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Zhixiong LiuDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Fangkun Liu *Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. liufangkun@csu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-1703-8836
Jingfang Liu *Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. jinfang_liu@csu.edu.cn.
Central South University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo investigate whether metformin monotherapy or adjunctive therapy improves the prognosis in patients with any type of cancer compared to non-metformin users (age ≥18).

methodsDatabases (Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and clinical trial registries ( ClinicalTrials.gov ; the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) were screened for randomized, controlled trials (RCT) reporting at least progression-free survival (PFS) and/or overall survival (OS). Main outcome measures included hazard ratios (HR), and combined HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects models.

resultsOf the 8419 records screened, 22 RCTs comprising 5943 participants were included. Pooled HRs were not statistically significant in both PFS (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.82-1.15, I

conclusionMetformin treatment was not associated with cancer-related mortality in adults compared with placebo or no treatment. However, metformin implied beneficial effects in the PFS of the patients with reproductive system cancers but was related to a worse PFS in digestive system cancers. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42022324672.

Indexed as

MetforminNeoplasmsAdultCombined Modality TherapyHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicMetforminCancerCancer-related mortalityMeta-analysisMetforminRCTs

Identifiers

PMID36280839
PMCPMC9594974
OpenAlexW4307380321

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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 Socratic graph.