Abstract
Metformin, a natural product from Galega officinalis, is an oral drug, now in the forefront of the therapeutic management of type-2 diabetes mellitus. A series of clinical observations of the last decades, support that metformin may contribute to lowering the risk of cancer development in diabetic patients, and also to improvement of response-to-therapy and survival in individuals with certain types of malignancies. Moreover, several preclinical in vitro and in vivo data indicate that metformin indeed exerts anti-proliferative capacities upon tumor cells mediated through a variety of mechanisms. Interestingly, metformin has been shown to act in synergy with certain anti-cancer agents and also to overcome chemo- and/or radio-resistance of various types of tumors, providing a hopeful rationale for novel therapeutic strategies against cancer development and progression. However, this remains an issue of controversy, since significant contradictions exist among the available data. Limitations of preclinical studies and caveats of epidemiological works, together with significant variances among the several types of cancer and the fact that the mode of metformin’s action is largely unknown, make longitudinal surveys urgently needed. Now, a plethora of large clinical trials are active worldwide, aiming at determining the effect of metformin in the prevention or prognosis of a variety of human cancers. If encouraging results arise, metformin will be an attractive candidate adjuvant in the management of human neoplasias, due to its safety, tolerability and low-cost, expected to mitigate adverse effects and no-response parameters of current anti-cancer therapeutics, thus improving the quality of life and survival of cancer patients.
Keywords: Metformin, adjuvant, anti-cancer agent, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, clinical trial.
Current Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Metformin and Anti-Cancer Therapeutics: Hopes for a More Enhanced Armamentarium Against Human Neoplasias?
Volume: 24 Issue: 1
Author(s): Maria-Ioanna Christodoulou and Andreas Scorilas
Affiliation:
Keywords: Metformin, adjuvant, anti-cancer agent, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, clinical trial.
Abstract: Metformin, a natural product from Galega officinalis, is an oral drug, now in the forefront of the therapeutic management of type-2 diabetes mellitus. A series of clinical observations of the last decades, support that metformin may contribute to lowering the risk of cancer development in diabetic patients, and also to improvement of response-to-therapy and survival in individuals with certain types of malignancies. Moreover, several preclinical in vitro and in vivo data indicate that metformin indeed exerts anti-proliferative capacities upon tumor cells mediated through a variety of mechanisms. Interestingly, metformin has been shown to act in synergy with certain anti-cancer agents and also to overcome chemo- and/or radio-resistance of various types of tumors, providing a hopeful rationale for novel therapeutic strategies against cancer development and progression. However, this remains an issue of controversy, since significant contradictions exist among the available data. Limitations of preclinical studies and caveats of epidemiological works, together with significant variances among the several types of cancer and the fact that the mode of metformin’s action is largely unknown, make longitudinal surveys urgently needed. Now, a plethora of large clinical trials are active worldwide, aiming at determining the effect of metformin in the prevention or prognosis of a variety of human cancers. If encouraging results arise, metformin will be an attractive candidate adjuvant in the management of human neoplasias, due to its safety, tolerability and low-cost, expected to mitigate adverse effects and no-response parameters of current anti-cancer therapeutics, thus improving the quality of life and survival of cancer patients.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Christodoulou Maria-Ioanna and Scorilas Andreas, Metformin and Anti-Cancer Therapeutics: Hopes for a More Enhanced Armamentarium Against Human Neoplasias?, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2017; 24 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867323666160907161459
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867323666160907161459 |
Print ISSN 0929-8673 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-533X |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Medicinal Chemistry: From Cancer to Chronic Diseases.
The broad spectrum of the issue will provide a comprehensive overview of emerging trends, novel therapeutic interventions, and translational insights that impact modern medicine. The primary focus will be diseases of global concern, including cancer, chronic pain, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune conditions, providing a broad overview of the advancements in ...read more
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Non-Infectious Inflammatory Diseases: Focus on Clinical Implications
The Special Issue covers the results of the studies on cellular and molecular mechanisms of non-infectious inflammatory diseases, in particular, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and other age-related disorders such as type II diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. Review and research articles as well as methodology papers that summarize ...read more
Chalcogen-modified nucleic acid analogues
Chalcogen-modified nucleosides, nucleotides and oligonucleotides have been of great interest to scientific research for many years. The replacement of oxygen in the nucleobase, sugar or phosphate backbone by chalcogen atoms (sulfur, selenium, tellurium) gives these biomolecules unique properties resulting from their altered physical and chemical properties. The continuing interest in ...read more
Current advances in inherited cardiomyopathy
Describe in detail all novel advances in multimodality imaging related to inherited cardiomyopathy diagnosis and prognosis. Shed light to deeper phenotypic characterization. Acknowledge recent advances in genetics, genomics and precision medicineread more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Lipoprotein(a) Management: Pharmacological and Apheretic Treatment
Current Medicinal Chemistry Antioxidant Response of Osteoblasts to Doxycycline in an Inflammatory Model Induced by C-reactive Protein and Interleukin-6
Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets Role of Estrogen Receptors and GPR30/GPER in Glucose Homeostasis
Immunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Discontinued) Biomarkers for Oxidative Stress: Clinical Application in Pediatric Medicine
Current Medicinal Chemistry Pancreatic Cancer in Obesity: Epidemiology, Clinical Observations, and Basic Mechanisms
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Metabolism of Direct-acting Antiviral Agents (DAAs) in Hepatitis C Therapy: A Review of the Literature
Current Drug Metabolism UCP2 and CFH Gene Variants with Genetic Susceptibility to Schizophrenia in Turkish Population
Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets Cholesterol Subfraction Analysis in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome
Current Vascular Pharmacology Design and Development of Nanovehicle-Based Delivery Systems for Preventive or Therapeutic Supplementation with Flavonoids
Current Medicinal Chemistry Recent Developments in Nanomedicines for Management of Various Health Issues Via Metabolism and Physico-Chemical Properties
Current Drug Metabolism Pancreatic β-Cells and Type 2 Diabetes Development
Current Diabetes Reviews Intensive Glucose Control in Diabetics with an Acute Myocardial Infarction Does not Improve Mortality and Increases Risk of Hypoglycemia-A Meta-Regression Analysis
Current Vascular Pharmacology Preface [Hot topic: Anti-Hypertensive Agents in Relation to Modifying Coronary Risk Factors (Executive Editor : Aurelio Leone)]
Current Pharmaceutical Design Metabolomics Reveals Hyperlipidemic Biomarkers and Antihyperlipidemic Effect of Poria cocos
Current Metabolomics The Potential of Embryonic Stem Cells Combined with -omics Technologies as Model Systems for Toxicology
Current Medicinal Chemistry Biochemical Markers of Bone Turnover and their Role in Osteoporosis Diagnosis: A Narrative Review
Recent Patents on Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Drug Discovery The Pathogenesis, Complications and Therapeutic Strategy for Hepatitis C Virus-associated Insulin Resistance in the Era of Anti-viral Treatment
Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials Antiplatelet Treatment in Stroke: New Insights
Current Pharmaceutical Design Editorial (Thematic Issue: Managing Strategies for Diverse Diseases: Challenges from Bench to Bedside Translation in Successful Drug Discovery and Development)
Current Pharmaceutical Design Synthesis of 3-methyl-4H-benzo[b][1,4]thiazine-2-carboxylates Using CAN as a Catalyst and Its Conversion Into Guanidines
Current Organocatalysis