Old drug, new trick: repurposing metformin for gynecologic cancers?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

There is increasing pre-clinical and clinical evidence that metformin, a commonly used diabetes medication, has a protective effect in cancer. The aim of this review is to discuss metformin's anti-cancer molecular mechanisms of action and to summarize the current literature demonstrating metformin's potential in gynecologic cancer prevention and treatment.

Methods

A PubMed search was conducted combining the keywords "metformin" with "neoplasm", "uterine neoplasms", "ovarian neoplasms", and "uterine cervical neoplasms". Studies published in English between 1994 and 2014 were included.

Results

Pre-clinical studies in endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer suggest that metformin inhibits the growth of cancer cells. The primary molecular mechanism mediating t

SUBMITTER: Febbraro T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4268303 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature