Is It Still Worth Pursuing the Repurposing of Metformin As a Cancer Therapeutic?

Overview

Journal Br J Cancer

Specialty Oncology

Date 2023 Feb 24

PMID 36823364

Authors

Simon R Lord

Adrian L Harris

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Over the past 15 years, there has been great interest in the potential to repurpose the diabetes drug, metformin, as a cancer treatment. However, despite considerable efforts being made to investigate its efficacy in a number of large randomised clinical trials in different tumour types, results have been disappointing to date. This perspective article summarises how interest initially developed in the oncological potential of metformin and the diverse clinical programme of work to date including our contribution to establishing the intra-tumoral pharmacodynamic effects of metformin in the clinic. We also discuss the lessons that can be learnt from this experience and whether a further clinical investigation of metformin in cancer is warranted.

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