SynthesisMedicine2022
Prognostic value of metformin in cancers: An updated meta-analysis based on 80 cohort studies.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2022. The graph read 2 numbers from its abstract, feeding 1 cell of the map, but none could be read as for or against, so it casts no vote. It also reports 2 associations that do not count as treatment evidence, such as HR 0.76 (0.66 to 0.87) for all-cause mortality. Cited by 10 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.
Read, but not usablea number the graph found but could not read as for or against
It showed that metformin was associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0. 81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.77-0.85]) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.79; 95% CI: [0.73-0.86]), and metformin was associated with progression-free survival (HR = 0.76; 95% CI: [0.66-0.87]).
It showed that metformin was associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0. 81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.77-0.85]) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.79; 95% CI: [0.73-0.86]), and metformin was associated with progression-free survival (HR = 0.76; 95% CI: [0.66-0.87]).
clause the extractor read what became the number
Where it lands on the map
Rows are treatments, columns are outcomes. The coloured squares are the cells this paper feeds, coloured by the vote it casts there. Click one to jump to what this paper adds to it.
What it adds to each cell
For every cell the paper feeds: the belief in the claim with and without this paper, and this paper's estimate drawn against every other readable study in the cell. The ringed dot is this paper.
Metformin×all-cause mortality
No readable resultOpen on the map →What to test next →1 readable study in this cell: 0 favour the treatment, 1 find no difference, 0 favour the comparator.
This paper's own estimate is on a different scale from the rest of the cell, so it is not drawn here.
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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with cancer are associated with reduced all-cause mortality and hospitalization.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- From Metabolism to Longevity: Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Metformin's Anticancer and Anti-Aging Effects.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Article
- Repurposing Metformin in Precision Oncology: Mechanistic Insights, Biomarker-Guided Strategies, and Translational Imperatives.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Article
- Obesity and its management in primary care setting.Journal of diabetes and its complications · 2025Review
- Review
- Metformin: From Diabetes to Cancer-Unveiling Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies.Biology · 2024Review
- Antidiabetic Drugs in Breast Cancer Patients.Cancers · 2024Review
- Diabetes mellitus as a consequence of acute severe pancreatitis: Unraveling the mystery.World journal of diabetes · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The marked sentences are the ones the graph read a number from.
backgroundExperiments have shown that metformin can inhibit cancer cell growth, but clinical observations have been inconsistent, so we pooled the currently available data to evaluate the impact of metformin on cancer survival and progression.
methodsPubMed, web of science, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) were identified using a random-effects model to estimate the strength of the association between metformin and survival and progression in cancer patients.
resultsWe incorporated 80 articles published from all databases which satisfied the inclusion criterion. It showed that metformin was associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0. 81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.77-0.85]) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.79; 95% CI: [0.73-0.86]), and metformin was associated with progression-free survival (HR = 0.76; 95% CI: [0.66-0.87]). In patients with diabetes mellitus, the HR of overall survival was 0.79(95% CI: [0.75-0.83]), progression-free survival was 0.72(95% CI: [0.60-0.85]), and the cancer-specific survival was 0.76(95% CI: [0.68-0.86]). It was proposed that metformin can improve the prognosis of cancer patients with diabetes mellitus.
conclusionBased on cohort studies, metformin therapy has potential survival benefits for patients with malignancy, especially with the greatest benefits seen in breast cancer on overall survival, progression-free survival, and cancer-specific survival. And metformin also showed potential benefits in cancer-specific survival in colorectal and 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.