ReviewJournal of translational medicine2023
Metformin and cancer hallmarks: shedding new lights on therapeutic repurposing.
Review in Journal of translational medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
112 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metformin for primary prevention of colorectal neoplasms in adenoma-free populations: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Cumulative Metformin Use and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk After HCV SVR: A Multicentre Cohort Study.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Article
- p53 and p21 Status Influences Cellular Response to Metformin inCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2026Article
- Investigation of metformin analogues in targeting signaling molecules of head and neck cancer pathways by computational approaches.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A cross-sectional curvey study on the correlation between irrational drug use in diabetic patients and the occurrence of malignant tumors.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2026Article
- AI-Driven Combination Therapy for Counteracting Dysregulated Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma: Contribution-Aware Metaheuristic for Drug Repurposing.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Metformin enhances survival with immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients: A meta-analysis.Oncology letters · 2026Article
- Revisiting potential role of metformin in the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis: translational medicine perspectives in gastrointestinal cancer.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Metformin Use and Development of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- The role of metformin in extracellular matrix-based three-dimensional cell culture Models: A mini-review on therapeutic potentials.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Article
- Diabetes and cancer: therapeutic implications.Cardio-oncology (London, England) · 2026Review
- 4. Comprehensive Medical Evaluation and Assessment of Comorbidities: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2026.Diabetes care · 2026Review
- Unraveling Diabetes Mellitus-Driven Tumorigenesis: From Pathophysiological Mechanisms, Therapeutic Drugs to Tailor-Made Nanosystems.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- AMPK/mTORC2/AKT-473/RUNX2 signaling axis modulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition and bone tropism in breast cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Emerging pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis: from neuroimmune interactions to intercellular communication.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- The interplay of dietary sugar, chronic inflammation, and bladder cancer: mechanistic insights, evidence, and prevention strategies.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Mendelian Randomization Uncovers Potential Repurposable Medications for Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- In Silico Analysis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Dendritic cells: the central partner for cancer immunity.Oncoimmunology · 2025Review
52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Metformin is a well-known anti-diabetic drug that has been repurposed for several emerging applications, including as an anti-cancer agent. It boasts the distinct advantages of an excellent safety and tolerability profile and high cost-effectiveness at less than one US dollar per daily dose. Epidemiological evidence reveals that metformin reduces the risk of cancer and decreases cancer-related mortality in patients with diabetes; however, the exact mechanisms are not well understood. Energy metabolism may be central to the mechanism of action. Based on altering whole-body energy metabolism or cellular state, metformin's modes of action can be divided into two broad, non-mutually exclusive categories: "direct effects", which induce a direct effect on cancer cells, independent of blood glucose and insulin levels, and "indirect effects" that arise from systemic metabolic changes depending on blood glucose and insulin levels. In this review, we summarize an updated account of the current knowledge on metformin antitumor action, elaborate on the underlying mechanisms in terms of the hallmarks of cancer, and propose potential applications for repurposing metformin for cancer therapeutics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.