Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Aug 2021)
Metformin and Malignant Tumors: Not Over the Hill
Abstract
Weiling Leng,1,* Juan Jiang,2,* Bing Chen,1 Qinan Wu3 1Endocrinology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Endocrinology and Nephrology Department, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital and Chongqing Cancer Institute and Chongqing Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3Endocrinology Department, Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, The People’s Hospital of Dazu, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qinan WuEndocrinology Department, Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, The People’s Hospital of Dazu, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected] ChenEndocrinology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Malignant tumors are a major cause of death, and their incidence is increasing worldwide. Although the survival rate for some cancers has improved, treatments for other malignant tumors are limited, and their mortality rate continues to increase. People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of malignant tumors and a higher mortality rate than those without diabetes. Metformin is a commonly used hypoglycemic drug. In recent years, a growing number of studies have indicated that metformin has antitumor effects and increases the sensitivity of malignant tumors to chemotherapy. However, the effect of metformin on different tumors is currently controversial, and the mechanism of metformin’s antitumor action is not fully understood. Insights into the effect of metformin on malignant tumors and the possible mechanism may contribute to the development of antitumor drugs.Keywords: metformin, malignant tumor, type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, 5’ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, antitumor
