Direct Effects of Metformin in the Endometrium: a Hypothetical Mechanism for the Treatment of Women with PCOS and Endometrial Carcinoma

Overview

Journal J Exp Clin Cancer Res

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Oncology

Date 2014 Jun 3

PMID 24887156

Citations 27

Authors

Ruijin Shao

Xin Li

Yi Feng

Jin-Fang Lin

Hakan Billig

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Although a number of in vitro studies have demonstrated the antiproliferative, anti-invasive, and antimetastatic effects of metformin in multiple cancer cell types, its cellular and molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer action in the endometrium of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have not yet been fully elucidated. Organic cation transporters (OCTs) and multidrug and toxin extrusion proteins (MATEs) are known to be involved in metformin uptake and excretion in cells. In this article, we discuss the novel therapeutic possibilities for early-stage endometrial carcinoma (EC) in women with PCOS focusing on metformin, which might have a direct effect in the endometrium through the OCTs and MATEs. We then review the molecular mechanism(s) of the action of metformin in the endometrium and highlight possible mechanistic insights into the inhibition of cell proliferation and tumor growth and, ultimately, the reversal of early-stage EC into normal endometria in women with PCOS.

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